By far one of the best ways to come up with a cool – and profitable – business idea is to pay attention to trends.

For example, if you spend much time on public transportation, in coffee shops, or other public places you’ll see people of all of ages compulsively playing Angry Birds or other games on their devices. (I am an admitted Solitaire junkie!)

But did you know there’s a huge surge in the popularity of good old fashioned board games like Monopoly or Dungeons and Dragons?

According to a recent segment on NBC news, board game sales increased 10 percent in 2014. Sales of the childhood favorite Operation are up a whopping 40 percent!

Fueling this increase is another trend — the growing desire to unplug from our devices and connect on a more personal level.

Some entrepreneurial souls are cashing in on the board game trend in a big way. And with a little creative thinking, so can you.

Take for instance, the aspiring entrepreneurs from Gold Ira Company Glendale, CA who launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money to open a game-themed café. It took just two months to raise the funds to open GameHaus Café.

Besides enjoying the wide-ranging menu of drinks and casual fare, for a $5 cover charge customers can access over 900 board games. The café also hosts events like International Table Top day at a cost of $15 for the day.

Other game bars and cafes like The Uncommon in population dense New York City are heavily events driven with specific dates and times regularly reserved for lovers of chess, Star Trek, and other games.

Even though they’re in a pricier area, The Uncommon also charges just $5 a head. Undoubtedly, the owners know the games are a way to bring the customers in. The real money is made on the food and beverage side.

The mark up on coffee alone explains why it’s known in the restaurant industry as “black gold.”

Still, when you consider 100-200 people at 5 bucks that’s an additional $500 to $1,000 a day in revenue! Even if they pull in that many people over the course of an entire week, you’re looking at $26,000-$52,000 annual profit just on the cover charge. Not bad for a one-time purchase of a bunch of board games.

Opportunity Knocks

Examples of location-specific businesses like these are ripe with opportunities for people who want to change course. After all, being a brick and mortar operation means they can’t be everywhere. So unless these café owners plan to offer franchises, anyone can replicate or modify what is now a tested business model.You can now even get some of the best coupon deals online and save money with it.

You could of course open your own bar or café. But if you’re looking for a more modest investment or something that doesn’t require you to be tethered for hours on end to a physical location, there are other potential options.

Set Up a Board Game Events Company I can see a lot of restaurant or coffee shop owners loving this idea but not having the time or energy to set it up.

What if you purchase a bunch of new or used board games to rent out to restaurants looking to host their own events?

To earn even more, provide a done-for-you service that, in addition to publicizing the event, includes board game delivery and set up. For a more engaging experience (at an additional charge), include MC services where you lead quirky contests complete with equally quirky prizes.

The restaurant or café gets the additional food and drink revenue and you keep the cover charge.

Whether you offer your services to existing businesses OR you rent out space to host your own events, consider offerings specific to different demographics groups. For instance:

Singles: What better way to meet a potential romantic partner than at a low pressure environment like board game night? In addition to lots of laughter, you definitely learn a lot about a person based on how they play individually competitive games like Monopoly, Scrabble, or Battleship or a team game like Pictionary or Taboo. Be sure to bring name tags for this one.

Single Parents: The kids get to meet and have no-tech fun with their peers. The parents get a much needed break playing games or conversing with other adults. For single parents who need to get employee, business, or school related work done you can set up workstations with printers.

Rent out Saturday mornings at a dinner-only restaurant, a childcare center, or other space. Set up a cereal buffet bar for the kids and maybe some children’s films for the toddlers and you’ve got yourself a great weekend business.

Family Game Night: Pizza for the kids… a glass of beer or wine event for the adults… What could be more fun? If your venue does not have a liquor license check with your local officials to see if a “bring your own” permit is available where you live. Or host an alcohol free event.

There could be college student, young professionals unplug, or new guy or gal in town night. Game days for kids with special needs or corporate team building events. Afternoon events aimed at retirees. Even bring your dog to game day complete a supervised romper room for canine play.

Once you start thinking outside the job box you’ll quickly see the possibilities are truly endless!

Finally, for the record, you can still tap into this trend without organizing events. That’s what the founders of Board Game Quest did.

The site began as a simple blog. It was a way says founder and avid gamer known simply as Tony to, “play games, post reviews and session reports, and maybe encourage others to discover something new.” [Wonder if the reason Tony and the other staffers don’t use last names is because they’re in the process of changing course from having a job-job to being full-time self-bossers…]

However, like so many enterprises that started out small, things grew from there. Today Board Game Quest features weekly board game reviews, news, interviews with game designers, and information on upcoming board game related Kickstarter campaigns.

That’s why its so important not to wait until you’ve got it all figured out. Instead just jump in and be open to where your business takes you!

The key is to stay alert to trends. When you find one that peeks your interest, look for proven — or creative — ways to build a business around it.

Join the “Brainstorm Nation” Family!

When it comes to ways to make a living without a j-o-b, lots of heads are always better than one!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post including other interesting ways someone could turn similar interests into income! (Non-Facebook users, scroll down to the comment section.)

When you picture a successful entrepreneur, you probably imagine someone with an outgoing, talkative personality. The kind of person who loves to socialize and meet new people.

The person you probably don’t picture is someone who is quiet, who becomes overwhelmed and exhausted by noisy environments, or avoids spending too much time around other people, especially large groups.

So where does that leave the stereotypical shy, socially reserved introvert who wants to start a business?

Better off than you think!

For starters, most experts see introversion/extraversion as a spectrum with few people at the extremes. Instead most of us fall closer to the middle. What about you?

Take the Quiz: Are You An Introvert?

Do you feel exhausted after an evening out with a lot of people (like at a party or networking event)?

Do you find you really need quiet time alone, for example, just reading, meditating, listening to music, or watching TV?

Do you tend to prefer to socialize in a very small group (just a couple close friends)?

Do you find it difficult to initiate a conversation with a stranger?

Do you label yourself (or do other people label you) as shy or quiet or socially inept?

If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, you’re probably closer to the introvert end of the spectrum. But that doesn’t mean you’re not cut out to start your own business.

Hugely successful entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, or Warren Buffett are not the kind of guys you’d find chatting it up at a party. And there are plenty of actors, professional speakers, and other performers who can “do” extrovert but are in fact quite introverted – myself included!

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, it’s important to know yourself and where your energy lies. In fact, think of your energy like a battery; if you are an extrovert your batteries are charged by social interaction, if you are an introvert your batteries will be drained.

That means you need to play to your strengths and get help in the areas where you’re weaker. For example, if you are an extreme introvert, you may prefer to run a home-based business rather than founding a company that requires you to interact with employees.

Or if you really do want to build an empire then like Zuckerberg, Gates, and Buffets then just know you’ll probably need to partner or hire an extrovert who loves the social stuff.

25 Small Business Ideas for Introverts

As an introvert it’s important to find the right business for you.

For instance, an online business where you sell new or used products or where you create and sell information products (written materials, audio downloads, etc.), can be a great fit for introverts because it allows all the freedom, control, and income of self-bossing with less of the frequent people contact that you find so draining.

Another benefit to a web-based business is you get to use your online interactions and presence to determine the persona the world sees. So you can be reserved Rachel or Rick at home and Rock Star Rachel or Rick in your business!

But selling stuff online is not your only option. Here are 25 other ideas that are well suited to people who enjoy solitude:

Webmaster or IT consultant

Artist

Graphic design

Photography

Copywriter (using words to sell a product or service or to promote causes)

Success Strategies for the Introvert Entrepreneur

Once you find your perfect business, you need to take action. To help ensure your success you’ll want to follow these simple strategies:

Find your passion. Your enthusiasm for your business can help you overcome your reluctance toward social interaction because you’re so eager to share it with the world.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Introverts may have social issues to overcome, but they have a knack for seeing the big picture and focusing on the important details.

Know what drains and energizes you. If you know that client meetings, long phone calls, or networking events drain you, try to schedule your day to include blocks of time for things that recharge your batteries like listening to music, meditation, reading, or even watching TV or playing a video game.

Automate and delegate. When you’re juggling a lot of balls it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Create systems and automation that will allow you to remove people from the equation – i.e., eliminate the need for employees, for making personal phone calls, etc. And where you can’t eliminate it, delegate heavily people tasks to a Virtual Assistant (VA) or others who are more extroverted.

Seek out other introverted entrepreneurs. This may sound counterintuitive, but a fellow introvert is more likely to understand where you’re coming from and is more likely to respect your social boundaries. Having other like-minded entrepreneurs around you – even if only virtually via social media– will also give you more confidence

Step out of your comfort zone. Finally, you may be an introvert but if you want to be your own boss then you still need to stretch yourself. Join a Toastmasters club to conquer your fear of public speaking. If you must attend a networking event set a goal of talking to just four people.

To this last point, you may even choose a business precisely because it pushes you to talk to strangers.

For example, according to International Living magazine editor Jen Stevens, one of the many great things about travel writing is it gives introverts a built-in excuse for initiating conversations with owners of inns, shops, cafes and others along the journey who can add value to your article.

With so many ways today to build a small business, to communicate with clients and customers, and to make business connections without ever venturing into public, you don’t need to be bigger, louder, funnier, or more charming to build a successful business.

Instead, be true to yourself, find the right business for you, and then take action!

Join the “Brainstorm Nation” Family!

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, when it comes to ways to make a living without a j-o-b, lots of heads are always better than one!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post, including any ideas you have for the introvert entrepreneur! (Non-Facebook users, scroll down to the comment section.)

In my two decades at Changing Course I’ve grieved the premature death of hundreds of perfectly viable business ideas.

Ideas which were totally possible – some even brilliant.

Ideas which if acted upon could have sprung their owners from job jail and made a difference in the world as well.

But sadly their owner let them perish.

There are a lot of ways to kill a dream.

For instance you can believe all those life-long cubicle dwellers who love to tell you that being your own boss is just a pipe dream.

Or you can become so overwhelmed with the thought of acting on your great idea that all you want to do is zone out in front of the television.

Or you can become consumed with the “what ifs.”

What if no one likes, wants, or buys my stuff?

What if I fall flat on my face?

What if I don’t know enough or am not smart enough to pull it off?

So much so that you never pause to consider what your life will be like in the far more likely event that you actually succeed!

There are dozens more of course. But by far the most common way to get away with murdering your dream is to simply keep it to yourself.

After all, if no one ever knows about your big idea they can’t possibly judge it – or you.

If you don’t share your business plan then no one will know that you didn’t lift a single finger to get it off the launch pad.

If you never let your idea see the light of day, never show your art or share your writing then no one will expect anything from you.

In other words, when you’re accountable only to yourself, then there’s no real consequence for failing to follow through.

That is of course other than spending the next ten or twenty years stuck in a job-job.

If you think that’s too high a price to pay, then you have a choice. You can continue to slowly starve your dream to death through sheer neglect.

Or you can decide to get off the misery-go-round.

If you wisely chose the latter, here are two simple steps you can take right this very minute.

Step 1: Publicly Declare Your Intention

For five years I produced a wonderful workshop called Work at What You Love which I also co-led with and my good friend and author of Making a Living Without a Job Barbara Winter.

In the final hour of this multi-day seminar participants were instructed to stand and publicly declare an intention. One by one upwards of 150 people rose microphone in hand to publicly give voice to their dream.

And now you can too.

The ground rules of a public declaration are simple:

It must be summarized in one sentence.

It can’t begin with “I’d like to…” or “Maybe I will…” or “It would be great if I could….” Instead, your declaration must begin with the words “I’m going to___”

It must include a commitment to act.

Some of the intentions shared over the years are downright inspiring!

“I’m going to be the penguin expert on a tour of the Galapagos.”

“I’m going to open a bakery-café that caters to stay at home parents and their kids.”

“I’m going to spend six months every year in the south of France.”

“I’m going to write the biography of my grandfather’s life.”

“I’m going to move to an island and open a bike repair shop.”

So you have a choice. You can murder your idea and no one will ever know.

Or you breathe life into your dream by scrolling down to either the Facebook OR the general comments section to make your own public declaration now.

Step 2: Find people who want to see your idea succeed as much as you do

The forces of fear, self-doubt, and overwhelm are mighty. That’s why you need a team of people who want to see you realize your dream as much as you do.

People who will be there to support one another, to hold each other accountable for making slow steady progress, to offer new ideas and solutions, to help one another overcome the inevitable setbacks, and to celebrate the wins big and small.

It’s interesting. Left on your own and you can feel hopeless.

But when you’re in a group like this, somehow you feel empowered. You become almost “bigger” than you usually are.

You feel a confidence that’s sometimes impossible to muster on your own. Yet with this network of supporters cheering you on, you’re inspired to go on… to plow ahead with a certain audacity that you might not normally feel you have in you.

As importantly, your productivity will soar. With a dream team behind you, you will get more done in six months than you would otherwise accomplish in six years!The people on your dream team can be friends, like-minded co-workers, even total strangers. You can meet in person or via conference call.

Regardless of who’s in your group or how you communicate the key is commitment. To truly succeed your dream team must commit to meeting weekly for no less than six months.

I’ve been a member in three business-building groups myself and each one has helped me grow in leaps and bounds.

I’m so convinced of the power of having a “mastermind” behind you that I recently created a formal Changing Course Dream Team.

The people who’ve already joined a dream team did so as a result of signing up for the recent Work @ What You Love workshop. (If you missed it and still want to take the class, you have until February 14 to get the complete webinar recordings.)

You don’t need to have attended Work at What You Love to join a Dream Team. That’s why I’m opening up the Dream Teams to my larger Changing Course newsletter readership.

These Dream Teams are set to begin in the next two weeks.

Right now there only 5 spots left. Once you sign up you can select your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice from various days and times.

I started the Changing Course newsletter in 1995 with a whopping two subscribers!

In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined where my business would take me.

That I’d sit down for an intimate Q&A with billionaire social entrepreneur and adventure seeker Sir Richard Branson.

Or that while in Los Angeles I’d attend a star-studded fundraiser Branson hosted called Rock the Kasbah.

(I managed to snap this photo of Branson chatting with Sharon Stone and this one of Paula Abdul.)

There were other stars on hand – stars in the coaching and online world. People like Ali Brown and Mari Smith, Eban Paegan, Joe Polish and Yanik Silver.

Starting out I could have never imaged meeting Gary Vaynerchuk (known to his 1.11 million Twitter followers as Gary Vee) at a New York cafe and picking his amazing entrepreneurial brain – something his corporate clients gladly pay $75,000 to be able to do.

Or that Arianna Huffington would personally email me to ask me to blog for the Huffington Post or that Forbes magazine editor Steve Forbes’ office would call for a signed copy of my book.

When I stood up to give my first very shaky public talk it was simply inconceivable that major corporations and universities like IBM, Procter & Gamble, Boeing, Harvard and Stanford would later pay me thousands of dollars to speak for a single hour.

Or that I’d land a six-figure book deal or that my book would go on to be published in five languages – including Russian.

Starting out – none of these things seemed possible. Now I know better.

“At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you.”

And it all began with taking one small step.

Why not make today the day you step into your dream and see for yourself how even the smallest step can lead to pure magic.

Regrets are an inevitable part of life. Fortunately not all regrets are created equal.

Some regrets are minor.

You regret buying those too tight shoes just because they were on sale….

Or picking up the phone as you were trying to leave the office….

Or ordering the fish when everyone in your party is raving about the pasta.

The good news?

Regrets like these (often referred to as “First World problems”) are ones we can learn from and hopefully, minimize the chance of repeating.

Utmost regrets, on the other hand, are more problematic because the consequences are so much bigger.

Utmost regrets, are also more difficult – and sadly, sometimes even impossible to reverse.

I’m referring to the kinds of things you’d absolutely hate to know would one day be etched on your headstone.

Vivian could have been a great writer, if she’d tried.

Sam could have changed a lot of lives, if he’d had the courage to act on his idea.

Ordering the fish is one thing. Bailing on your dream of helping unadoptable kids or entering a writing contest is quite another.

Elizabeth Berg learned a lot about dreams. However, she learned even more about regrets while working as a nurse with terminally ill people.

In an article titled, Dreams Are Not Enough, the award-winning novelist wrote movingly about how not pursuing our dreams may be the riskiest move of all.

It is a lesson she learned from those whose time had almost run out.

Those dying people I cared for believed, as most of us do, that they would have time for everything. So they put things off… Then suddenly their days were almost gone. They were out of the time they thought they would have forever. And while I bathed them, they stared out the window and talked about what they had missed. They might say, ‘I always wanted to see Hawaii, but… I don’t know. I never did.’ The sense of regret was so strong that we both ached. I wanted to lift those people up out of bed, put them in a wheelchair, and take them to the airport. ‘Hawaii, please,’ I wanted to tell the ticket agent.

Everyone has dreams, sadly far too often they get put on hold.

Asking, and then answering her own question, Berg writes:

“What happens to our dreams? They die of lack of nourishment, that’s what. ‘Later,’ we say, and when we turn around, they’re gone.”

The Worry Factor

According to many of the 1,200 elders who took part in Cornell University’s Legacy Project, there is a powerful link between regret about the past and worry in the present.

When asked what they most regret when they look back on their lives, the answer most often given was they wished they hadn’t worried so much.

The way 102-year-old Eleanor sees it,

You just can’t go on worrying all the time because it destroys you and your life, really…. You have to put it out of your mind as much as you can at the time. It’s a good idea to plan ahead if possible, but you can’t always do that because things don’t always happen the way you were hoping. So the most important thing is one day at a time.

And 87-year-old James Huang agrees…

Why? I ask myself. What possible difference did it make that I kept my mind on every little thing that might go wrong? When I realized that it made no difference at all, I experienced a freedom that’s hard to describe.

The thing that takes a lot of people by surprise is this.

We waste our lives worrying about the “unknown risks” that change can bring, when in reality we should be more scared of the known risk of spending the rest of lives in the same place we are today.

If we fail to at least try to create the life we really want, we risk making good on Benjamin Disraeli’s often quoted prediction that “most people die with their music still locked up inside them.”

The sudden loss of my mother at just 61 totally changed how I viewed time (we can choose how we use it), money (things work out), and life (it’s all too short).

I won’t lie. Walking away from a good job with good benefits was – and still is – not without risk.

Yet I knew that the real risk was looking back at my life and saying, “I was miserable; but at least I had a good dental plan.”

What Will You Most Regret?

Take a moment now to choose the THREE things you would most regret not doing in your lifetime.

Now name one small thing you can do today – not tomorrow, not next week or next year, but today – to help prevent this utmost regret from occurring.

I invite you to post it either in the Facebook comment section, or scroll down for the general comments area.

If one of your three utmost regrets is spending your life in a soul-sucking job, I have good news.

As I write this, 108 of your fellow change seekers from six countries and 32 states have signed on for the fast approaching Work @ What You LoveVirtual Weekend Workshop.

If you share the dream of finding your calling and a way to make money doing it in order to live a life where you get to calls the shots, then don’t worry…

You still have time to join us. The Early Bird 96% SAVINGS ends Tuesday, January 20th.

But don’t wait too long, because after midnight January 20th, the price DOUBLES.

Spending twice as much money is not the worse regret in life. But wouldn’t it be nice to invest the money you’ll save in the service of your dream?

Can’t Make the January 24-25 Dates?

No problem. You can still get access to the Work @ What You Love Roadmap.

For a limited time you can pre-order recordings of the entire 2-day workshop. That way you won’t miss a thing. Plus you can take the class on your own schedule and pace — and retake it as often as you like.

To make sure you get maximum value from the replay, you’ll also receive a complete set of the Work @ What You Love handouts.

Whether you join us live or you take the Work @ What You Love workshop on your own schedule… remember this:

When you go to bed tonight, try not worrying about what will happen if you fail. Instead worry about what you have to lose by not ever trying.

Fear… self-doubt… procrastination… Are these dream-busters keeping you from going after your dream of being your own boss?

Why wouldn’t they?

“By the time you’ve hit your 20’s,” says Walter Anderson, author of Courage is a Three Letter Word and TheGreatest Risk of All, “you’ll have heard a whopping 25,000 ‘can’ts’.”

Twenty-five THOUSAND… that’s a lot of “can’ts.”

“You can’t work at what you love and make a good living.” “Impossible. Can’t be done.”

What most people call “reality” is a very poor place to nurture dreams… and to share them with others? Forget it.

Erma Bombeck once said, “It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.”

Erma knew that other people’s fear, skepticism and negativity can be as contagious as the flu. And unless you’ve built up your immune system, these dream stompers can knock you – and your precious dreams – for a loop.

Don’t believe me? Try this at your next gathering…

Announce to your family and friends that you’ve decided to quit your job to become a writer… or a personal organizer… or do your art… or be an aroma-therapist… or flip houses… or pursue your love for history… or travel the world for a year… or whatever it is you’d love to do.

What do you think their reaction would be?

Would they encourage you to “go for it?” Or might it sound more like this…

“Yeah right, in your dreams.” “It’ll never work.” “Better to play it safe.”

If you listen to the naysayers out there, the message is loud and clear. Stay stuck, don’t even dare to hope, forget your dreams.

Is it any wonder you’re probably finding it hard to take control of your life and whole-heartedly pursue your dreams?

Think about how all the “It’ll never work,” “Forget your crazy dreams,” “You should be happy that you have a job,” messages have buried themselves deep into your psyche and affected how you see the world.

For example, if you sat down right now and took a personal inventory of your life, would your list look something like this?

I’m miserable in my job. But it’s impossible to make any money doing what I love.

I feel like life is passing me by… but there’s nothing I can do about it.

I keep thinking there has to be more to life than this…. I suppose I should just forget my crazy dreams

Sound familiar? Okay, so what do you do?

Well, for starters you might want to think about what will happen if you do nothing.

Close your eyes and picture what your life will be like if you continue to be ruled by your fears and self-doubts and heed the red lights thrown up by your well-meaning family and friends.

In other words, imagine staying where you are right now… day after day, year after year dragging yourself through the work week until you retire.

Pretty scary isn’t it?

Now imagine feeling encouraged and empowered to go after your dream.

Picture yourself looking back at your life and basking in the self-satisfaction of knowing you went for it…. If you like the way that felt then you’ve already begun to experience how powerful it is to readjust your thinking. You see the thing is…

If you really want to create a more balanced, rewarding life doing work you truly love, you’ll need to create a mindset that will instantly turn ‘can’t’ into ‘can.’There will always be dream dashers.

But the world is also full of people who believe in the power of a dream. You just need to find them.

Fortunately you don’t have to look all that far. A few years ago I compiled a book filled with the voices of just such people.

If you are a long time subscriber of the Changing Course newsletter than you will no doubt recall this early photo of Cokie and me that appeared in each issue.

We were both a lot younger then!

Cokie was a fixture at the “Work at What You Love” workshop/retreats that I used to hold in the living room of my former home in Montague Massachusetts.

Mostly he just hung out while the participants were busy making plans for how to make a living with a j-o-b.

Other times he preferred to share the teacher’s chair and actively participate in the discussion.

But I’ll let Cokie tell you in his own way, what he loved most about these gatherings…

He was just a year and half when I took him home from a no-kill shelter. The staff there had named him Pokie.

I suppose it was because whereas every other dog would run at the sight of food, Cokie would take his oh-so-sweet time making his way to his dish.

You’d have to really be a dog lover to watch this next video. With that warning, here’s Cokie NOT rushing to his dish.

In fact he was almost never in a rush. Unless that is, there was a squirrel involved. Then he was, I used to tell him, faster than a greyhound!

I wasn’t crazy about the name “Pokie.” At the same time I also didn’t want to confuse him with an entirely new one. So I settled on Cokie.

Despite being a boy, just for fun I added “Roberts” onto his name in honor of a longtime favorite NPR correspondent, Cokie Roberts.

I must admit I did take adolescent humor in the annual call from the vet’s office reminding me about using best vacuum cleaner for pet hair is the best way to please bring in a stool sample from Cokie Roberts. Although I’ve never shared this with Ms. Roberts, I like to think she’d be amused.

Cokie offered many life lessons – like during our morning “delicious selection of treats” ritual

When I first got Cokie there were no cameras in cell phones. In fact, there were no cell phones!

I have some earlier photos of him packed away somewhere.

But finding them and then figuring out how to use my new scanner? Well, that’s just more than my brain can handle today.

Instead here are a few favorites from the last 7 years…

Waiting for the vet… It was not his favorite place (understatement) yet I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Diamond and the team at Valley Veterinary.

He’d much rather be in his bed…

Preferably dreaming…

Or sledding with the dog sitter (who knew!)

Or snuggling on the couch…

I used to always tell Cokie he was “smarter and braver than Lassie.” You decide…

Good Boy! He got it right!

Like any self-bosser, Cokie worked really hard!

Yet Cokie still found time to hang out with his many friends.

This is him with his girlfriend Megan. (He always liked older women.)

In fact, the minute I said her name, Cokie would immediately cock his head trying to understand… Is she here? Are we going there? Where’s Megan?!

And waiting at the door with his hiking pal Mercie.

Cokie even loved cats.

In fact a neighbor’s cat used to rub up against him purring and licking his ears.

Apparently mistaking the cat’s “advances” Cokie tried to have “relations” with her.

When I asked my vet if this was normal behavior in dogs he answered with an emphatic “No.”

Cokie’s first toy was a monkey.

So after that all toys were known as monkeys. He had a cow monkey, a giraffe monkey, a bear monkey…

Some years before she passed away my mother admired this porcelain dog she saw in a store in Vermont. So my sister Susan surprised her with it.

Though my mother never got to meet Cokie, the resemblance to my future dog is remarkable – even the same red collar!

My dad recently gave me the statue. At first I couldn’t bear to see it. It was too soon. Today his look-alike sits in my office. In the spring I may put it on his grave.

Finally, two of my favorite photos: Basking in the sun on the porch at the old house in Montague.

I guess like his “Mom,” Cokie understood that life is all about taking the long view.

Thanks for letting me share these thoughts and images of Cokie.

Mostly, thank you for letting me share him with all of you for the past 14 years. You rock.

When it comes to changing course, money – or rather the lack of it – stops a lot of people in their tracks.

So to help, I’ve put together a five-part series on creative ways to fund your dream.

You may not be able to take advantage of every idea or resource. In fact, none of the five ideas may be right for you and your personal situation. You need to read them anyway. Why?

First, the strategy that may not be a fit for you today may indeed be the one that launches your dream a few years from now.

Second, just knowing that options truly do exist will remind you that your crazy dream is not so crazy after all.

And finally, one of the ideas or resources you see here may be perfect for someone you know. Pass it on and you just might change a life!

Strategy #2: Get Your Priorities Right

Comedian and actor Chris Rock remarked in an interview, “Having money doesn’t make you rich. Having options makes you rich.”

Arianne and Scott Bennett didn’t have either. The couple desperately wanted to travel. But they didn’t have any expendable income.

However they were both able to afford their $4.50 pack a day cigarette habit. Smoking had become a priority.

So in 1998 they both decided to quit and stash the money they saved into a travel fund. Ten months later the couple had enough money to fly to Amsterdam where some friends had recently moved. Check the e cigarette reviews

They loved the canals and the old world charm. But what Arianne and Scott really fell in love with were the many falafel shops. So they returned to the states to open their first Amsterdam Falafel shop and today run a booming franchise business.

Arianne and Scott’s dream began with a simple decision to put their money into something that would bring them joy. Can you say that about where your money goes?

If not, where can you cut back? Could you cancel or downgrade a pricey cable bill. Pack your lunch. Skip the daily latte. Whatever you do be sure you redirect the money you save into a special Dream Account.

Throughout his life Waino had a series of low-paying jobs, including school bus driver and hired hand at a dairy farm. Linda started out as an English teacher but soon discovered a love of making pottery.

For the last 30 years she’s thrown pots in her well-lit basement studio. In the spring and fall, Linda teaches pottery classes at a local college. And for a few weeks each summer, she runs classes for kids in her studio.

Of course like everyone, there are times when, Linda feels pressured by the demands for her work. But while her employed friends get a measly 2-3 weeks of vacation, Linda takes ten.

The couple grows much of their own food. So she takes three weeks off in May to plant their massive vegetable garden. The entire month of August is spent reading books, playing cards, and swimming at a rustic cottage on a remote lake in Maine that the couple own with Linda’s sister and her husband.

After a hectic few month run up to the busy Christmas craft season Linda takes three weeks off in January to cross country ski from her front door and to catch up on things around the house.

This isn’t Linda’s only vacation time. In the last few years she and Hanne Eidberg cross-country skied their way across a part of Switzerland, spent a week with other long-time friends and me in Cozumel Mexico, and last year she accompanied a friend to Ecuador.

Did I mention that Linda and Waino’s combined income has never been more than $50,000? If you’re wondering how they can do all of this and still afford to take over ten weeks off a year, it has everything to do with priorities.

The couple prides themselves on living a full but frugal life. Ardent environmentalists, they repair rather than replace, buy only what they need and for everything else they go used, barter with friends, or go without. They raise chickens for the eggs and grow and preserve a fair amount of their own food.

The mortgage on their small but comfortable home has long been paid off and they have more saved for retirement than the vast majority of those earning two-to-three times more.

If you live in pricy areas like New York City, Boston, or San Francisco it’s not always easy to live on less. So if you’re ready for a change of scenery, consider relocating to a more affordable place where your dollar will go much further.

If you’re up for re-prioritizing in a big way, you could always go international. Running an existing portable business or starting a new business in another country is actually pretty doable. There are ex-pats opening cafes, using Skype to continue to work with clients back home, and importing crafts and other products back home.

Getting a job in another country can be a major challenge, but it’s not impossible. The reason Linda went to Ecuador was to accompany a friend who couldn’t afford to retire in the U.S. and wanted to check things out. On her first visit the friend got a job teaching English and has since relocated there full-time.

Nor do you need to move, raise your own chickens or grow your own food. But, if you’re serious about finding a way to fund your dream – and enjoy more life – then consider ways you can live on less. In a word: Prioritize.

As Margaret Young said:

“Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.”

Find Your Tribe and Learn at the Same Time

At the California event you can attend dozens of talks and workshops on topics like creating realistic historical heroines, the eight hero/heroine archetypes, how to write sizzling scenes, creating audio books, time management for writers, and finding a publisher.

Romance not your thing?

Then how about dogs, athletics or fitness, using horses to heal humans, beading, African American music, blogging/podcasting/web TV, historical woodworking, Latinos online, chocolate, selling on eBay or Amazon, or countless passions?

You don’t have to already be actively working in a given field to attend a conference. If you train dogs or think you’d like to then check out the Association of Professional Dog Trainers convention in Dallas.

Billed as “the iconic, largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in journalism, blogging, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship,” the organizers expect to draw more than 2,100 of the nation’s most influential Latino professionals from the industries of blogging, journalism, music, marketing, film and business over the five days.

Lots of horse lovers have long been fascinated by programs that use horses to help disabled children, veterans and others suffering from post-traumatic stress, and others to learn, heal, and grow.

In addition to an inside look at the design, construction, and evolution of 18th-century desk forms, this year’s event features a tool swap and the chance to chat with editors from Fine Woodworking magazine.

Bummed to discover that you just missed Colonial Williamsburg’s conference on “400 Years of Chocolate: Aztec to Artisans”?

For a very different sensory experience, there’s the historic National Association of Negro Musicians National Association of Negro Musicians conference in Washington, DC. The organization awarded their first scholarship in 1919 to Marian Anderson. How cool is that!

Always wanted to open your own gym or other fitness-related business? Then head to the Athletic Business Conference & Expo happening next November in New Orleans. Although the agenda is not yet set, the organizers describe it as a premier educational event and trade show for athletic, fitness and recreation professionals.

Unlike the highly niched gatherings you just learned about, conferences like this that attract people with wildly diverse businesses are ideal if…

You live in the area and want to spend a fun and informative day with like-minded people

You have a blog, podcast or other business where you profile interesting entrepreneurs

Your customers or clients are small business owners.

Regardless of the topic, conferences are a great place to meet and learn alongside “your tribe.”

Plus since most have some sort of expo or tradeshow, attending a conference is also a great way to find potential business ideas and partners.

Want A Solid Business Idea Before You Go to Any Live Event?

Since 1995 I’ve helped thousands of people go from confusion to clarity.

If you’re still trying to find a way to connect the dots between what you love to do and how you can get paid to do it, schedule one of a limited number of Find My Perfect Business consultations today.

To find out if a Find My Perfect Business consultation is right for you call 413-535-0451 eastern.

Outside the US send an email to [email protected] with your Skype ID and I’ll get back to you with a meeting time.

In 2014 I flew down to Miami to attend Entrepreneur magazine’s Annual Growth Conference. It was hands down one of the best events I’ve ever attended.

Four years later the conference is back in Miami.

There are at least seven reasons why you should move heaven and earth to be there on February 4th.

I’ll get to how you can meet – and perhaps even be on stage with Barbara Corcoran – in a moment.

But I’ll start first with perhaps the most surprising reason of all.

(I was going to save this reason for last. But I moved it first out of fear that you’d say, “I can’t afford it” click away and never get to reasons 2-6.)

#1 The Entire Conference is Freakin’ Free!

Thanks to long-time sponsors UPS the cost to attend the entire conference is zero, zilch, zippo!

And that includes a continental breakfast and a fabulous sit-down lunch with a table full of fabulous people in your new Entrepreneurs Tribe!

Of course if you’re not local there’s the cost of getting to Miami.

But your travel expenses are freakin’ tax deductible – even if you’re just starting out and haven’t yet made a dime!

According to the United States Internal Revenue Service, as long as your efforts demonstrate an intention to earn a profit, you can begin deducting any money you invest in building your business right away.

Or as the IRS puts it…

You do not need to actually make a profit to be in a trade or business as long as you have a profit motive.

That means you can deduct the cost of airfare, Amtrak, lodging, rental car, ground transportation, parking, and a portion of meals.

And for my friends up north, did I mention the conference is in hot Miami in frigid February? Now that’s my kind of tax-deductible trip!

#2 You’ll Be Inspired to Think BIG

If Barbara can parlay a $1,000 loan into a five-billion-dollar real estate business which she later sold for $66 million – then you can certainly make a go of your business.

#3 You’ll Receive Expert Advice

Upon registering you also have the chance to apply for the chance to be one of three lucky entrepreneurs to take the stage with Barbara Corcoran.

Once there you’ll have five minutes to pitch your product or business to receive 1-1 advice from Barbara herself.

What if you don’t make the cut? No worries, you can still jump into a speed mentoring session with a variety of business experts from SCORE.

Conference organizers describe it as your chance to:

Get ideas and answers to your toughest challenges from experienced professionals in marketing, finance, accounting, sales, business management, human resources and more. You’ll move from coach to coach in quick-format pacing, so come prepared to share your challenge succinctly to get the most from this session.

#4 You’ll Learn A Ton

Successful entrepreneurs are all about continuous learning.

You can choose from breakout sessions on a host of topics from branding yourself and your business to choosing the right business structure to funding your business to getting the media to notice you – and more.

#5 The Chance to Pitch Your Company to Entrepreneur Magazine

Years ago I was lucky enough to get a full page feature in the former Entrepreneur Business Start-Ups magazine.

If you already have a company, then you have the chance to pitch your story to the magazine editors.

Here’s how it worked when I attended:

First you stand in a big line which moves pretty quickly and is filled with other fascinating entrepreneurs.

The organizers let a dozen or so entrepreneurs into the pitch room at one time. Once in you grab a seat across from a random editor and launch into your 3 minute pitch.

At the 2010 conference I pitched to then media editor Justin Petruccelli. I had to do it again I’d definitely research the different editors ahead of time to determine which would be most likely to be interested in my particular business.

Regardless of the outcome, just the process of planning your pitch is an incredibly useful exercise for any entrepreneur.

#6 Meet Movers and Shakers

You won’t find any snobby gurus here. To the contrary, the movers and shakers at this conference are all too happy to chat with participants.

Counterclockwise: Entrepreneur Editor in Chief Amy Cosper, 2010 keynote and the late guerilla marketing guru and multiple best-selling author Jay Conrad Levinson, Founder and Chairman of BNI Ivan Misner, and 2009 College Entrepreneur of the Year Bradley Ericson.

#7 Meet the Most Amazing Entrepreneurs

Honestly, to me the best part of the conference is the opportunity to connect with other amazing entrepreneurs.

Like the engaging Felecia Hatcher. After being laid off from Nintendo in 2008 Felecia and her husband Derick and another partner founded Feverish Pops in Miami.

My Aunt Cindy recommended your website 7 years ago and I have been following you ever since. My husband and I have begun creating a new life around much of your advice.

After years of searching and experimenting with my different skills and hobbies and creating my own successes, I am starting my own coaching business.

I want to immerse myself with wonderful people who are doing what I want to do but I am struggling to find seminars, conferences, online groups, anything. I can find individuals online across the country, but I want to meet people in real life. Where can I begin?

Jessica Nason
East Killingly, CT

Jessica’s tribe is other coaches.

Your own tribe may be other fiber artists, eBay sellers, or whatever it is that you are either doing or dream of doing.

If, like Jessica, you can’t find a local group you still have options.

Option 1: Expand Your Tribe

If you can’t find an industry-specific group then join your local chamber of commerce, inventor group, or any gathering of entrepreneurs.

If Jessica joined a women business owners group I guarantee a number of members will be coaches. That means she can network with her specific tribe and meet prospective clients at the same time!

Keep in mind too that not all Tribes need to be local. Sorry to leave out my male readers, but if you’re a woman business owner you can join a really neat organization called Her Corner.

Founded by my friend Frederique Irwin, the organization recently launched a new, free Community Membership level with lots of free discounts and perks to help you grow.

It’s a great no cost way to collaborate with other members, get access to discounted products and services, and tap into the collective wisdom of other women business owners who are equally committed to growing their businesses.

Option 2: Start Your Own Tribe

If you want to be in a group made up of people in your specific business– and you can’t find one in your area – then start one!

Get Paid to Speak or Hold Cool Events – Or Both!

Picture yourself delivering a presentation or leading a workshop on a topic you love.

Maybe that topic is spirituality, abundance or effective leadership. Or what about how leading with spirit results in an abundant bottom line?

Or perhaps you’d love to speak about how sports or learning to play a musical instrument can be a metaphor for academic or business success.

Or on how to find your true calling, self-care for caretakers, or a thousand other topics.

Now imagine earning four – or even five – figures per speaking gig sharing your passion with others.

Welcome to my life!

I became a paid speaker at 26. My first gig earned me a whopping $150. Good money when rent was $400!

Last year I earned six figures speaking, and this year I’m on track to do the same.

Over the years I’ve addressed well over 70,000 people at countless organizations from Intel to the YWCA.

And I’ve had the honor of sharing the main stage with the likes of Martha Stewart and Gloria Steinem (now that’s a combination!)

I’m not telling you this to impress you.

Rather, it’s because I’ve learned a thing or two about how to succeed as a professional speaker – including what mistakes to avoid.

The 3 Biggest Mistakes Aspiring Speakers Make
and How to Avoid Them

The first mistake is actually the worst one because it keeps a lot of talented people with a message to share from ever even trying to get into the speaking business.

Mistake #1: Thinking You Don’t Know Enough

Far too many perfectly capable people think they don’t have enough knowledge to talk about a subject. If you’re one then I have news for you.

You really don’t know everything there is to know about your topic. But guess what? Neither does anyone else.

There’s always more to learn!

A related mistake is the misguided belief that you can’t possibly speak credibly on a topic unless you have an advanced degree – or indeed any degree.

You don’t need three PhDs and 20 years of experience. You just need to know more than your audience does. As the saying goes, to 3rd graders, 4th graders are gods!

Look at talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Despite regularly dishing out “expert” and often controversial opinions and advice on human behavior, “Dr. Laura” as she is known and is not a physician as many of her listeners presume.

Nor is she a psychiatrist, or even a psychologist. Although she did go back and study marriage counseling after starting in radio, the “doctor” designation is from a doctorate in physiology where she studied the effects of insulin on rats.

In fact, an effective counter to the internal or external pressure to be highly credentialed is to proudly proclaim yourself as the “anti-expert.”

In her book French Women Don’t Get Fat, Mireille Guilano lets readers know right up front that she’s not a nutritionist, a psychologist, an exercise physiologist or any other kind of “ist.”

Instead, Guilano says, she’s just a woman who happens to have observed and experienced the French diet and is sharing that knowledge with people who’d like to eat well and not gain weight.

Mistake #2: Not Understanding How Speakers Get Paid

There are three ways you can get paid to speak. You can

a) Get hired by organizations

b) Earn money from your adoring audience

c) Generate revenue from event sponsors

Which model or models you choose depends on your topic, your financial and business goals, and your personal preference. Let’s take a brief look at each.

Get Hired by Organizations

Other than running the occasional workshop or retreat for people who want to change course, this is my primary business model.

Because my topic – confidence – is so far reaching I can speak to a variety of different audiences.

Speaking at corporations

Having worked for a Fortune 500 company I’m comfortable working with such diverse companies as Boeing, IBM, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s Europe division (sweet!) and Motley Fool.

Another plus of speaking to for-profit companies is they pay the most!

A topic like “how to raise sane, healthy teenagers” or “how to find your calling” typically won’t fly for employee training. But there’s another way most people don’t know about – so called “spousal meetings.”

Lots of large corporations hold at least one multi-day, off-site meeting a year where attendees (usually executives or top performing sales people) are encouraged to bring their spouse or partner and sometimes the kids too.

While the employees attend mandatory meetings, their family can choose from a range of age-appropriate activities which include speakers!

Speaking at colleges and universities

I’ve spoken at over 70 major colleges and universities. Depending on your message you can specialize in addressing undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and/or staff.

Whenever you can try to maximize my travel time by grouping my speaking gigs based on location.

For instance this year I will have spoken at Cornell (4x) and nearby University of Syracuse, at North Carolina State University and the neighboring University of North Carolina as well as two California trips to speak at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and University of the Pacific.

Professional or industry associations or charitable organizations

Large professional or industry associations need keynote and break out session speakers for their national, regional, or state-wide events.

Examples from my own experience include American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Alberta Business Women, and Utah Women Attorneys.

Charitable organizations also hire speakers for their fundraising events. Like the dog chef who travels to speak at events put on by the SPCA and other dog shelters.

These organizations tend to operate on a shoe-string, so expect to earn the least here. Keep in mind though that you may be able to arrange selling your book after your talk or to get a professional videotape of your talk.

Earn Money From Your Adoring Audience or From Sponsors – Or Both

If you know what you’re doing you can make insane amounts of money running your own events.

Registration fees

Registration fees are the most obvious source of income. These can range from $5o for a couple of hours to $5,000 for a multi-day event.

Toss in some big name speakers and depending on your audience it’s not unheard of to charge as much as $25,000.

If the material you’re delivering is intended to help your audience to use the information to earn money themselves, then you can charge more. Here again, it has to do with your topic.

Naturally people are willing to pay more for an event on how to make 7 figures selling information products than they are for one on how to write your first screenplay.

Product sales

Another model is to keep the registration fee low – or even free – and instead earn money from so-called “back of the room” sales.

Most often this would mean selling books, CDs, videos and other information products – your own or other peoples.

However, if your event is on fashion or how to write a best-selling cookbook, then you could just as easily sell clothing and accessories, make up, cookware, and other topic appropriate products on site.

Masterminds and other coaching or mentoring programs

Income from registration fees and products can be substantial. But in addition to these revenue streams, the most financially successful speakers use their events another way.

They still provide attendees with valuable content.

However, the secondary goal is to use the event to showcase your credibility and value in order to inspire a smaller segment of the audience to sign up to join your coaching or mentoring program.

It worked for me. I signed on to “mastermind” with three different experts this way. In all three cases it was money well-spent.

Sponsorships

Selling sponsorships for your event is another highly lucrative and often under-used way to get paid to speak.

Depending on your topic, sponsors could be a local newspaper or bank, a major corporation, or even a solo-practitioner like a chiropractor or life coach.

Sponsors win because they in front of potential customers in a forum that aligns with their brand and message. You win because sponsor fees can cover part or all of your event costs.

Case in point is Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Growth Conference (an event I highly recommend). The event is free to attend because UPS foots the entire bill – including lunch!

When you can attract 5 to 25 corporate or other major sponsors at the $5,000, $15,000, $25,000, and even $50,000 level, then my friend you are looking at serious revenue.

Bottom line, putting on your own events is a great avenue if:

There aren’t a lot of organizations who are willing or able to pay you to speak on your particular topic

Your topic is entrepreneurial in nature and/or your primary audience is business owners

You want to offer coaching or mentoring after the event

You have products to sell

You can attract enough attendees to make your event attractive to sponsors

Mistake #3: Not Investing In Your Success

Whether you’re just now launching your speaking career or are a seasoned pro who wants to increase your bottom line, from a financial perspective the BIGGEST mistake you can make is not being willing to make even the smallest investment in yourself and your business.

Speaking skills not as strong as they could be?

You don’t need to spend a dime to join a local chapter of Toastmaster or watch Ted Talks.

To get there much faster though I suggest you attend a formal training program where you can learn from someone who is more experienced, skilled, and further along than you.

That’s what I did. This is me and my speaking mentor five time New York Times best-selling author and television personality Larry Winget.

As someone who has earned the right to command a $25,000 speaker fee, I knew he could help me take my own business to the next level. And I was right.

Everyone can become a better speaker. That includes me. Like all great speakers, Larry never stops practicing his craft and neither should you.

Working with Larry cost me a small fortune.

Fortunately, there are two free resources that are happening this very week.

Own the Stage: 7 Strategies to Create a Speaking Business that Attracts Clients, Connection and Cash Flow

This three-part video series is compliments of Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA.

A sought-after speaker and award-winning business coach, Darnyelle has been featured in Black Enterprise, Essence and O Magazines and has shared the stage with some of the greats – Suze Orman, Les Brown, Brian Tracy, Lisa Nichols, Willey Jolley, Delatorro McNeal, and Ali Brown… to name a few.

Darnyelle will share the tips and techniques that helped her launch a speaking business that generates $20,000 a month from corporate and other speaking gigs. These include:

A sure-fire technique to turn your audience into raving fans and grow your own “groupie” line

The three different types of speaking engagements and how to maximize your earnings in each

Must-have marketing materials you need to get you booked again and again

Sold Out to 7 Figures: The LIVE Event Formula for Cashing In

If you’re already comfortable on stage and are ready to put on your own events there is simply no one out there better to learn from than Suzanne Evans of Hell Yeah Coaching and Bari Baumgardner of Sage Event Management.

You may not know Bari by name. But you may recognize some of her clients.

Bari and her team have planned and managed highly profitable events for people like Ali Brown, Lisa Sasevich, Fabienne Frederickson, Adam Urbanski, Bernadette Doyle, and many others.

Two words that describe Bari are class act.

On the other hand there’s my friend Suzanne Evans. (One of the things I love most about Suzanne is that she’d be the first one to laugh at that transition.)

In just a few years this unapologetically big, brash, tell-it-like-it-is business coach has built a multiple 7-figure company.

But style will get you only so far.

What landed Hell Yeah on the Inc. 500 list of fasted growing companies in the US not once, but twice, are their sold-out live events.

After started out with 11 people in a crowded conference room of a dingy chain hotel quickly turned into almost a thousand enthusiastic attendees at a swank luxury hotel.

If you want to put on highly profitable live events this is your chance to learn from Suzanne, Bari and other event professionals.

There are two types of people in the world: Chronic complainers and chronic complainers with a clue.

Both groups can always find something to gripe about.

The difference is, the clueless complainers will go to their grave railing against everyone and everything. Which, of course, only confirms their biggest complaint, namely: “life sucks and then you die.”

“In the middle of difficulty,” observed Albert Einstein, “lies opportunity.” What makes clued-in whiners different is that they have grasped the fundamental genius of success:

Creating floral arrangements

Growing and selling plants from home

Working on the farm with a little help from farm school

In This Issue

Each has the potential to solve a problem for someone else while putting money in your pocket!

Man Camp – teaching what dads forgot to teach

Breaking up is hard to do – but you can help!

For some breaking up is fun to do – divorce parties and other ideas

As always, some of the cool ideas you’re about to “meet” come from people in an international community of licensed Profiting From Your Passion® coaches. I hope these ideas inspire you to make your own job!

Cool “Job” #13: Man Camp – teaching what dads forgot to teach

Like many entrepreneurial ideas, this one came disguised as a problem.

My friend Beau Blackwell was lamenting the fact that his father never taught him how to replace a toilet, trouble shoot a stalled car engine, or other stereotypically “guy stuff.”

“Wouldn’t it be great,” said Beau, “if young guys like him could go to “man camp”? Indeed!

If you know how to do basic home maintenance or auto repairs you could teach the classes yourself. If not, find some retired guys who can.

Building On That Idea

You could of course earn money from registration fees. But there are other ways to go.

For instance, you could round up one or more local sponsors to foot the bill. Instead of it being your event it could be billed as Man Camp sponsored by Homey Hardware Store or Best Ever Used Cars.

In addition to sponsor income, being connected with a local business has other advantages like instant credibility, sponsor help in promoting the event at their location, on social media, and on their website, as well as increased chances for local media coverage.

Another way to generate revenue is to work the food and beverage angle.

I remember my friend Barbara Winter telling about a famous herb farm that used to operate in Connecticut. They didn’t have a license to serve food. So they charged a fee to tour the gardens that included a free lunch!

So what if you tap a local brewery as a sponsor? That way you can include a free sample which in turn allows you to up the registration fee. (Just don’t teach classes involving any buzz saws!)

Man Camp is a great idea. But as a home owner there are a lot of things I wish my dad had taught me too – things that neither of my two brothers learned either.

So you could always organize a similar class for women who tend to be less intimidated learning how to dry wall or change spark plugs in the company of other women.

Cool “Job” #14: Breaking up is hard to do – but you can help!

Anyone who’s been dumped knows that breaking up really is hard to do.

You don’t feel like eating. Everything reminds you of your ex. You obsess about how incredible they were while developing amnesia about their faults.

As you’ll learn from an informative and entertaining video called The Science of Love, there’s a physiological reason why you have a hard time getting over your beloved.

So it stands to reason that a step-based model like Alcoholics Anonymous could be used to facilitate recovery from heart-break as well.

The video features several newly single people trying out five steps like identifying three things you learned from the relationship and mediation.

Building on That Idea

The 5-step process got me thinking about things like offering Break Up Recovery Coaching, Break Up Support Groups, even Break Up Retreats to cool locations.

You don’t need to be a psychologist or other mental health provider. Rather if you have coaching experience or simply organizing skills, you can partner with someone else to do the emotional heavy-lifting.

The video ends with a singer composing a customized rap song for the people featured in the video.

If you have a knack for songwriting, this could be just the cool job for you!

What If You Could Get Paid to Share Cool Business Ideas?

Are you an idea person?

Do you love to brainstorm?

Would you like to get paid to do what comes naturally?

You’re not alone!

In less time than you think you can train to become a licensed Profiting From Your Passion® coach.

Here’s what one student had to say as she started digging into the course material…

The resources on the student site are unbelievable. I can’t even imagine the time, energy, finances and mental/physical exertion you have poured into this.

Most of what I have experienced appears to have lead me to this work! Thanks again for all the work you have put into this program.

Robbie Penney
Bakersfield, CA

An accelerated version of this online course begins September 8th. Seats are limited.

If you’re not into the angry ex going to a strip club with her gal-pals scene that means there are others who feel the same.

So why not offer an alternative for divorcees looking for more Zen-like or spiritually-based rituals. It could be as simple as a weekend at a local retreat center or spa or as high-end as a group trip to Sedona or Machu Picchu.

If you want to specialize even more, you could create events that appeal to gay divorcees, Jewish divorcees, devout Christian divorcees – add your own here.

Not a people-person?

Then set up an online store selling divorce-themed party favors and other products.

No offense to really dated looking The Divorce Shower Store (the link to Myspace nailed it) – but it wouldn’t be hard to come up with a more polished look or one aimed at an upscale market.

With enough traffic you can also attract ad revenue.

To increase your search engine optimization (SEO) and stand out from the competition at the same time,you can use one of the best seo in montreal agency or supply visitors with a steady stream of articles on topics like surviving the divorce, rocking it as a single parent, and getting back in the dating scene.

Or maybe you’re more the creative type? For a premium, you can offer divorce voodoo dolls customized to resemble a cheating ex.

Or you can design your own products like this funny “break-up prevention” T-shirt I saw in the Pittsburgh airport which would make a great coffee mug or wall plaque too.

The marriage may have ended, but the possibilities for creative self-bossers to create their own cool job are truly endless.

Add Your Voice to the Cool Job Tribe

Thousands of heads are always better than one!

How would you build on any of these cool jobs? What other options, ideas, or additional profit centers did you picture? What other cool jobs have you spotted lately? Post below!

In This Issue

In this issue we’ll look at three more cool jobs for people who love the bounties of summer. In one case, you don’t even need to work outdoors!

Design floral arrangements

Grow and sell plants from home

Get back to the organic farm

As always, some of the cool ideas you’re about to “meet” come from people in an international community of licensed Profiting From Your Passion® coaches. I hope these ideas inspire you to make your own job!

Cool “Job” #10: Design floral arrangements

You don’t have to work out doors to arrange flowers. But you do need to know what you’re doing.

Conferences are a great way to both get a feel for any field and to engage in continuing education. Consider attending the American Institute of Floral Designers national symposium, June 30 — July 4, 2015, in Denver.

Can’t afford to register? Starting later this fall the Institute’s foundation will once again take applications for scholarships.

The guide can help you decide whether to buy an existing shop or a franchise or to open your own place and includes sections on how to write a business plan, required tools, equipment and supplies, finding and working with growers and wholesalers, marketing, delivery options, and more.

If being your own boss isn’t your thing, you’ll also learn how to get hired as a floral designer working in a small flower shop, for a chain, for a wholesaler, or in a grocery store.

According to Mike, you don’t need an entire farm to get into this fun and profitable seasonal business. In fact, he says you can do it on a mere 1/20 of an acre of land and sell your plants literally from your driveway.

People kept asking Mike how they too could make extra money growing plants from home.

Hint: When people want to know how you do something, listen to them, because it’s opportunity knocking.

Wisely, Mike did listen, and today he also sells a low-cost e-guide that that spells out how you can set up the same system where you live.

Are you an organic food enthusiast who loves the idea of getting out from behind a computer and working the land? Then follow the trends my friend.

Between now and 2018 the organic food market in United States is forecasted to grow 14%.

If you just want to dip your toe in the water, check out World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. For a $40 membership you get a directory of 1,927 host farms in all 50 states, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico that offer a variety of educational opportunities

You spend half a day on the farm (which includes room and board). Depending on what host farm you select, you can learn about growing vegetables, keeping bees, building straw bale houses, working with animals, making wine, and much more.

Or maybe you’re ready to dive into farming in a big way but lack the necessary knowledge and skills. If so consider applying for the year-long training offered on the 183-acre Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts.

You can choose from such wide ranging subjects as dairy farming, food preservation, forestry, green house propagation, pest and disease control, acquiring farm land, business planning, marketing and much more.

They also have an optional three-week winter trip to a farm in Tuscany. Sweet!

At $18,000, which includes housing, it’s definitely not cheap. But when you see how former students have crafted their own cool jobs or enterprises, you may decide it’s an investment worth making.

A less expensive (but also more limited) training option can be found at the Organic Farm School situated on the historic Greenbank Farm on Whidbey Island in northwest Washington State. The publicly owned farm consists of 500+ acres that include fields, forest, wetlands, and a 10-acre economic development center.

Tuition for their 7.5 month program is $5,200 (payment plans are available) plus $180 a month for housing.

Both farm schools also exemplify the beauty of multiple streams of income.

In addition to selling farm fresh products, the Athol farm has a summer youth camp, runs its own accredited middle school housed in a converted chicken coop, and hosts children on field trips from other schools.

The Whidbey Island location runs a community school that offers shorter classes taught by volunteers and rents out space for wine tastings, dog shows, and other local events.

Add Your Voice to the Cool Job Tribe

Thousands of heads are always better than one!

How would you build on any of these cool jobs? What other options, ideas, or additional profit centers did you picture? What other cool jobs have you spotted lately? Post below!

It’s also a great example of how you don’t actually have to “do” crafting. Instead you can dedicate yourself to scoping out cool crafting ideas like they do.

Plus, the blogger bios are a fun reminder that there’s more to life than office politics and commuter traffic.

Take Pauly who tells us that he “lives in the fabled lands of Canada” with his wife, son and “a small zoo.”

For his day job Pauly “travels all over the world” where he says he “sees the inside of many airports, hotels and taxi cabs.”

During his own time though, he “enjoys cross-stitch, as long as it is geeky.” Who knew?

Pauly and full-time crafter wife Redd co-run a store on Etsy called Geekopolis.

Oh yes, Pauly says he’s also “totally a Viking.”

Building on That Idea

When you calculate in materials and time, it can be tough to make any real money selling individual craft items. So a lot of people just give up.

But what if there were a way to sell just your crafting IDEAS?

Enter the craft pattern and education site You Can Make This. Once your project has been accepted, the company shares it with their eager crafters. Then when your pattern sells you get 50 percent of the revenue.

Side note: The business was founded by stay-at-home mom and avid crafter Kim Christopherson. It was so successful her husband Ryan was able to quit his technology job to join her. Sweet!

Cool “Job” #8 Invent a New Toy

As kids Mike Cheshire and Tom Aiezza they knew their parents weren’t keen on them playing Frisbee in the house. So they fashioned their own smaller disks out of jar lids, shaved bottle caps… whatever worked.

The childhood friends teamed up after college to produce the same mini-Frisbee toy.

Rather than go to China, they hired a plastics company in Southern California to produce a first run of 7,500 Flickerz. Total cost from prototype to mold to finished product was only $10,000.

Stellar sales at 12 independent toy stores meant they were on the right track. Today their site features lots of video demonstrations. But back then the pair had posted a video of themselves doing trick throws that they posted on LinkedIn of all places.

A toys sales rep saw it and told them they needed to go to a toy fair happening in two weeks. Mike and Tom quickly put down $2,500 for half a booth and with that, Jungo Toys was officially born.

In 2012, they sold between 50,000 and 60,000 discs. Before long they were able to begin paying themselves.

In 2013, Jungo sold 120,000 units. This year they expect to double again breaking the half a million mark in revenue. Customized versions with an organization’s logo are especially profitable because there’s no packaging or sales commissions to pay out.

Building on That Idea

Having such a low price point has had an unexpected benefit. One non-government organization purchased a batch of Flickerz to keep kids standing in food lines amused. And for children at an orphanage in Kenya it’s the first toy they ever owned.

This could be a great opportunity to start a non-profit that matches non-government organizations serving poor children or those in refugee camps with toy manufacturers willing to donate over-stock toys.

When you walk into the romantic, candle-lit dining room at Chandler’s Restaurant in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, the last word that would come to mind is “children.”

But when you realize they are part of Yankee Candle’s huge flagship store known for its Disney-like Bavarian Christmas village, then it all makes sense.

Every month the restaurant hosts a mother/daughter luncheon. Guests dress up in feather boas, tiaras, and fancy attire to enjoy an “award winning kids menu” while listening to a reading of one of the books in Jane O’Connor’s Fancy Nancy series.

It must be a hit because Chandler’s recently added kid’s cooking classes for $25.00 per child. This includes instruction, recipes to take home, lunch, and complimentary lunch for one accompanying parent.

It’s a great deal for the parent and smart way for the restaurant to attract first-time diners.

Building on That Idea

That got me thinking. Someone who loves creative marketing and children could fashion themselves into an internationally recognized children’s event expert. (I like to think big!)

You could research other innovative ways normally adult-focused businesses are using kid-friendly events to bring parents and their credit cards in the door. Then sell your findings in the form of an e-book or marketing white paper.

Or simply use it to custom design children’s events for restaurants, retail stores, libraries, even car dealerships or dental practices.

Resource for a Change

Attend the SCORE Awards Gala Without Leaving Home

In celebration of their 50th anniversary, on Thursday, August 14 at 7:00pm Eastern SCORE is live streaming their Awards Gala

This is a great opportunity to get some inspiration and potential ideas without ever leaving home!

Two honorees that caught my eye are:

Garbage to Garden A Maine-based company picks up your food scraps and returns them as compost. If you love this idea as much as I do, this could also be a great opportunity to contact them to see how you might work together to launch this same business where you live.

Lulyboo The founder and inventor of this baby bed carrier worked with two Score mentors. One guided her to grow the business while another helped her script and produce a video entry for a local entrepreneur forum. The video came in 1st place netting the founder a cash prize of $10,000.

Add Your Voice to Cool Job Tribe

Thousands of heads are always better than one!

How would you build on any of these cool jobs? What other options, ideas, or additional profit centers did you picture? What other cool jobs have you spotted lately? Post below!

The Big End of Summer
Income Generation Idea Sale!

You Really Can Live Life
On Your Own Terms.
All You Need is A Great Idea

Ideas are powerful. When you finally see a way you can make money doing what you love, something remarkable happens.

Suddenly the fear, procrastination, overwhelm, self-doubt and all the other dream killers suddenly take a back seat.

An idea gives you direction. Without your own idea, you’re destined to watch others pursue their passion while your own life passes you by.

Over the span of 19 years, I’ve helped thousands of aspiring self-bossers just like you to connect the dots between what you love to do and how you can make money at it.

And the most important “dot” of all? Making sure that all ideas pass the all-important Life Test. That way you can put your life first – and work second.

Now for a limited time you can schedule a personalized Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session for the significantly reduced price of just $499.

That means for under five hundred bucks you can get one – or quite possibly – multiple income generating ideas.

Not sure what you love to do?

“The way to find out about your happiness,” said renowned mythology scholar Joseph Campbell, “is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy – not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy.”

Next, get out your calendar and call me at 413-535-5107 eastern time during normal business hours. I’ll do a brief intake and schedule your one hour session.

I’ve taken a lot of career assessment tools and they always end up telling me I’m creative – which I already knew – but they still leave me stumped as to what to DO with my creativity to actually make a living.

Valerie gave me a lot of good ideas that really made me think. She helped me see how many different possibilities there are in the world for us creative types.

Lynette Turner
Los Angeles, CA

I am still trying to catch my breath after our call! I am very satisfied with the way things went… You were giving me ideas, tips and resources until the second our call ended.

Bob Nelson
Chicago, IL

Someone booked an Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session just before this blog was posted.

Some of the cool ideas you’re about to “meet” come from people in an international community of licensed Profiting From Your Passion® coaches.

I hope these ideas inspire you to find and grow your own income-generating idea!

Get Paid to Share Your Love of Wine

Get Paid to Imitate the Masters

Get Paid to Bake Cookies

Great Idea #4: Get Paid to Share Your Love of Wine

Love turning people onto great wine? So did the couple who started a mobile in-home wine tasting service called Winebulance.

People looking for a fun way to learn about wine with their friends can schedule a knowledgeable Wine Consultant to show up at their home in a well-stocked van to educate the gathering on some of the company’s favorite wines.

Revenue comes from wine sales. But the main focus is on having local wine shops pay $2,500 to implement the business model in an exclusive territory. The shop owner can buy, lease, or rent the van.

Coincidentally one of the class exercises in the Profiting From Your Passion® coach training involves a Wine Educator.

The exercise asks students to come up with ways a wine educator could make money. I’m not going to give away all the answers. But here are a few examples to jog your thinking:

train wait staff at new or established restaurant

run wine tastings for vineyards

run tours through wine country

hold wine pairing events at restaurants

The exercise was inspired by a client who left her draining Silicon Valley job to pursue her love of wines. After re-locating to a less pricey part of California and taking a minimum wage job at a gourmet food and wine shop, the client earned her certificate as a wine educator.

Want to be a Wine Educator?

A quick search uncovered several Wine Educator programs in the UK and Australia.

If you love to make cookies you could of course open a bake shop. But then you’d have all that overhead.

Instead why not launch a Cookies & Milk Delivery service like this one in Davis, California started by a philosophy major at UC Davis and his recently graduated girlfriend.

The couple bakes the cookies at a downtown commercial kitchen then delivers them still warm along with ice cold milk to their addicted fans.

Building on That Idea

Maybe you don’t live near a large university or aren’t keen on being in the delivery business or have employees?

I can imagine warm cookies and milk working well out of a food truck. If you’re a night person you could park the truck near a busy bar scene.

If you’re not a night owl then find someone who is. That way your asset – the truck – is still earning money while you sleep.

Bake in the morning. Then during lunch time take your cookie truck to playgrounds frequented by preschoolers and their caretakers or large office complexes. Afterward, head to a large high school to catch hungry teens just as school is letting out.

The Bottom Line

Make Your Own %&#*#@ Job

Every summer there are millions of aimless teenagers who were unable to find a summer job. But not for lack of trying.

They filled out applications at the mall and at fast food restaurants. But no luck.

It simply never occurs to these teens – OR their parents – to MAKE A JOB.

Wash cars

Mow lawns

Paint fences

Babysit

Clean garages

Sweep the sidewalks in front of store fronts

Design websites

Teach adults how to use social media

Refinish furniture

Repair computers or lawn mowers

For instance, have you ever tried to find a lawn chair in August? The stores have already moved on to selling snow blowers!

Enter a local kid who used to snag discarded lawn chairs and reweave the seats. Every day he’d have 20 or more on display in front of his house selling at $7-$15 a pop.

In other words — Get Creative!

Can you blame these kids? After all, most adults are astonishingly uncreative about ways to make money that don’t involve getting a job-job.

In most industrialized countries people have lost the ability to connect the dots between a need and a solution we could provide in order to earn money.

Instead we’ve become a nation of occupational sheep.

And the old way is no longer working. So get creative people!

As George Eliot said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

The Big End of Summer
Income Generation Idea Sale!

You Really Can Live Life
On Your Own Terms.
All You Need is A Great Idea

Ideas are powerful. When you finally see a way you can make money doing what you love, something remarkable happens.

Suddenly the fear, procrastination, overwhelm, self-doubt and all the other dream killers suddenly take a back seat.

An idea gives you direction. Without your own idea, you’re destined to watch others pursue their passion while your own life passes you by.

Over the span of 19 years, I’ve helped thousands of aspiring self-bossers just like you to connect the dots between what you love to do and how you can make money at it.

And the most important “dot” of all? Making sure that all ideas pass the all-important Life Test. That way you can put your life first – and work second.

Now for a limited time you can schedule a personalized Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session for the significantly reduced price of just $499.

That means for under five hundred bucks you can get one – or quite possibly – multiple income generating ideas.

Not sure what you love to do?

“The way to find out about your happiness,” said renowned mythology scholar Joseph Campbell, “is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy – not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy.”

Next, get out your calendar and call me at 413-535-5107 eastern time during normal business hours. I’ll do a brief intake and schedule your one hour session.

I’ve taken a lot of career assessment tools and they always end up telling me I’m creative – which I already knew – but they still leave me stumped as to what to DO with my creativity to actually make a living.

Valerie gave me a lot of good ideas that really made me think. She helped me see how many different possibilities there are in the world for us creative types.

Lynette Turner
Los Angeles, CA

I am still trying to catch my breath after our call! I am very satisfied with the way things went… You were giving me ideas, tips and resources until the second our call ended.

Bob Nelson
Chicago, IL

Someone booked an Income Generation Idea and Action Planning Strategy Session just before this blog was posted.

Since Take Lessons began in 2006 the company has paid out more than $21 million dollars to its teachers.

So, what are you waiting for? Go teach something!

Free or Low Cost Dream Launchers

#1 New Book Offers Recipe for Success [Limited Free Copies Available]

Launch is the title of my friend, mentor, and former stay-at-home dad Jeff Walker’s new book.

The subtitle pretty much says it all…

An Internet Millionaire’s Secret FormulaTo Sell Almost Anything Online,Build A Business You Love, AndLive The Life Of Your Dreams

If this sounds like hype, I assure you it is not.

In Launch Jeff outlines the exact process used by over 10,000 people around the world to start or grow a successful online business.

Using case studies of real people who used his high-end product launch formula program (PLF), Jeff lays out the actual steps you need to create your own product or service, find interested consumers, and turn them into enthusiastic buyers.

People have used PLF in every type of market and niche you can think of and realized tremendous success.

In fact, it’s almost become a hobby of Jeff’s to keep track of many of those markets. Here’s just a partial list of some of the markets:

dating advice

test preparation

Photoshop tutorials

loan officers

realtors

juggling

college admissions

baseball coaches

mixed martial arts

SAP programmers

knitting

crocheting

dog training

mutual fund investing

trading (forex, futures, stocks, etc)

dressage

real estate investing

learning guitar

training doctors to read ultrasounds

business coaching (around the world)

raw food

massage therapy

romance (writing love letters)

personal trainers

medicinal herbs

fiction writing

horse training

learning piano

dog agility training

marching band accessories

tennis instruction

yoga

youth soccer coaching

pet care

songwriting

health food

hand analysis

meditation

brain science

self-defense

There’s another reason I know Jeff’s launch formula works. I used it.

For years I resisted spending more than a hundred dollars here and there on marketing. Then, on the recommendation of a trusted and extremely successful entrepreneur, I bit the bullet and bought Jeff’s program.

I followed the formula exactly. Not only did it work just the way Jeff said it would, but I generated more revenue in six months than I had in the previous six years – combined.

You don’t have to spend the kind of money I did to master the product launch formula.

Because in an effort to generate pre-book buzz for Launch, Jeff is giving away a limited number of copies – for free. You get:

The exact formula that Jeff’s students have used to generate more than $500 million in sales in hundreds of markets.

The 9 weapons of mass influence that cause people to BUY (they’ll be the cornerstone of your successful launch)

How to use the Seed Launch to get paid BEFORE you even start your business (or create a product)

Plus you also get some amazing bonuses.

Whether you already have a business or are just getting startedLaunch truly is your recipe book for success.

As legendary entrepreneur and star of Shark Tank Daymond John said,

“Surround yourself with a team of advisors [who] have the same agenda. Do homework. Research every single thing that you are doing. Take affordable next steps. Take a step forward, learn and then repeat.”

If I could pick just one advisor in the entire world it would be Jeff Walker.

#2 Tap Into Insane Income Working from Home

There really is a way for you to work from home, make good money, and actually have a life.

Here’s my personal endorsement. I know Shanda Sumpter. A few years ago I hopped a plane to California to co-create a product with her and have personally witnessed how she has built a business that gives her true freedom.

Shanda doesn’t just pitch it; she’s someone who has figured out a formula that works for any business that produces a lot of FREE TIME!

Put it this way…

Shanda does triathlons which means she works out 17 hours a week (and it shows!).

She also takes off every third week, checks out over December to go skiing in Canada and spend the holidays with her family.

She also has a full staff, makes millions of dollars, and is extremely determined to show you how to build your business so that you can “HAVE a bigger LIFE”!

She’s also one of the most genuine people I know.

Here’s what Shanda is doing that I think you should check out.

Making money and having money should give you freedom. There IS a way that you can set yourself up for that.

Most free giveaways are TRAPS to get you to buy something.

I promise you this ISN’T. Anything offered on this Free Training is well worth your time and investment.

Winston Churchill said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Optimism is essential to success. All the more so if you want to make the leap to being your own boss.

In fact, the ability to view the world through the lens of opportunity is by far the fastest path to freedom.

That’s because, as you are about discover, difficulty that’s been keeping you locked in job jail may be the very thing that can set you free.

For starters, have you ever thought…

“I have so many interests that I can’t decide”

Kate is interested in lots of things. So many that she has a hard time picking just one. This makes Kate what my friend Barbara Winter calls a “scanner.”

She’s “addicted to scrapbooking,” spends hours happily researching information online, and before she got stuck with a stressful two-hour-a-day commute Kate was an avid golfer.

Unfortunately, none of Kate’s interests have anything to do with her j-o-b as a financial analyst.

Kate feels trapped. Which is ironic given her other passion. Writes Kate,

“I’m always looking at possibilities and trying to help my friends or co-workers or even total strangers who know they’re on the wrong path. One friend who is a cat lover calls me the answer lady because I’m constantly researching cool things she could do in the cat world”

In fact, Kate says getting paid to do what she’s done all along for free is “too good to be true.”

However, her excitement is short lived.

Her new worry? “What if I go in one direction only to discover it wasn’t my true calling after all?”

As a result Kate isn’t acting on any of her passions for fear that by saying ‘”yes” to one path, means closing the door on others.

Not so says Barbara. In Refuse to Choose she writes,

“…a scanner can’t choose one direction. It’s like telling a parent to choose one child to feed. A parent knows she has to feed all her children. And a scanner must find a way to follow every path that interests her.”

In fact, rather than a barrier to self-employment, having multiple interests means Kate has multiple ways she can earn money.

She could partner with a local travel agency to offer golf outings to exotic locations two or three times a year…

She could teach courses on scrapbooking throughout the year…

Or since people like to hunker indoors in the winter, scrapbooking could be a seasonal business.

That way Kate could still make money combining her love of online research with her knack for generating business ideas for cat lovers, travel lovers, sports lovers…

Better yet, she could specialize in helping other scanners!

Not only will life be more interesting, but in the end, having multiple profit centers means Kate will probably end up making more money as well.

Speaking of money… Do you worry that if you do what you love, the people and the money just won’t follow?

“Will enough people really pay me for this?”

Some people spend so much time fretting about whether there’s enough of a need to start their business that they wind up doing nothing.

Tim wants to quit his job in human resources to do freelance writing from home. But he knows it will take a while to match his former salary.

A self-described “dog guy,” Tim thought about also doing some dog sitting. But with so many kennels in the greater Washington DC area, he doubts he’d make much.

It’s a costly assumption to make.

Twenty five bucks a night may not sound like a lot, but when you travel as much as I do, it adds up! Last year alone, I paid my own dog sitter close to $1,200 to care for my aging dog Cokie in her home.

In a span of 10 minutes Tim could sign up for Rover.com, a new service that matches dog owners with in-home pet sitters.

Most sitters in the DC area charge $25-$40 a day. But a woman who bills herself as the “dog whisperer” commands a whopping $80 – per dog.

And guess what? She’s got more reviews than most of the competition!

Determining market potential for any potential business is basically a number crunching exercise.

If Tim found just three clients who, between them had five dogs, and they booked 70 nights a year ($80 x 5 dogs x 70 nights) he’d have a pretty sweet $28,000 income stream!

(If you want to learn more about how to calculate potential earnings check out my article on the Profiting From Your Passion® FAQ page.)

Joanne also wants to work from home. She’s intrigued by the idea of becoming an “outside the job box” career coach, but like Tim, she worries about the need.

“I work in a large dysfunctional organization. There’s a big shake up going on and lots of bad management decisions. Everyone is miserable — including me.

I’m the one everyone comes to for advice about how to get through this mess but I know they aren’t the types to quit their jobs to follow their bliss.

I desperately want out but I’m just afraid there’s not enough of a market out there for this kind of work.”

Let’s review…

She and everyone around her is “miserable,” but Joanne doesn’t think there’s a market for someone who can help burned out cubicle dwellers find relief?

Is every disgruntled employee a potential client? Of course not. But even if it were somehow possible to work with every person on the planet, Joanne only needs to reach enough people to get launched and then grow from there.

If for every 100,000 employees, 5 percent were open to the idea of making a living without a job – that’s 5,000 people.

Then there’s the finding that the most significant spike in people starting their own businesses is among people aged 55 to 64.

With 10,000 baby boomers retiring every single day for the next ten years, this market alone is enormous.

Kate, Tim, and Joanne don’t have a problem. They have an opportunity. Once discovered, the ball is officially in their court.

As Wayne Dyer said, “There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there’s only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.”

Roots that began when I published the first Changing Course newsletter way back in 1995.

(Okay now I feel old!)

This is Cokie and me in the early days.

Cokie was probably three-years-old in this picture. Now he’s 15.

At least I can still see and hear. Cokie… not so much. But gratefully the old guy is hanging on.

A lot has happened since 1995. Heck, a lot’s happened since my last newsletter!

Over the last few months I’ve had opportunities to re-learn two important lessons.

Lessons that can help you realize your own dream of working at what you love, living life on purpose, and following your own road.

Know When Good Enough Is Good Enough

Is chronic perfectionism killing your dream?

Are you waiting for everything to be absolutely perfect before you launch your great idea… your small business… your new LIFE?

Maybe you want to start a blog or write a book or give motivational talks. But instead you endlessly tinker and tweak and adjust, making sure everything is just so… but never begin.

Trust me I’ve been there.

Over the years though, I’ve learned that all my high-minded notions of “quality standards” and “getting it right” really just equaled paralysis.

On the whole, the male entrepreneurs I know operate from a very different definition of quality. The mantra repeated by multi-millionaire speakers at the numerous marketing seminars I’ve attended always comes down to some variation of this:

“You don’t have to get it right you just have to get it going.”

One marketing guru went even further telling procrastinating perfectionists that, “Half ass is better than no ass.”

His wording may be crass but the fundamental truth remains:

If you wait for everything to be perfect you’ll never act.

Whether it’s a product, a service, or an idea, you have to put version one out there, get some feedback, improve on it, and then create a new and improved version from there.

You can always course correct as you go.

But at some point you must decide it really is good enough.

It’s a lesson I relearned just last week while recording a presentation.

I spent the better part of a day doing dry runs before finally hitting the dreaded “Record” button.

Everything was going great until around the 35 minute mark, and I coughed.

Could I have stopped and re-recorded the whole thing? Yup.

And if someone had hired me to create the video I would have.

But this was a free video I produced for a select group of people who want to learn more about an upcoming training program on how to get paid to brainstorm.

So instead I kept going.

Earlier in my entrepreneurial journey I would have been compelled to make it perfect.

Instead I chose to think most viewers would forgive the cough.

And to recognize instead the considerable effort I put into finding statistics about the boom in the numbers of people embracing self-employment and the examples of creative business ideas.

Plus the entire second half of the video is basically a free marketing lesson.

Lessons I knew this audience could use to launch or to grow a business regardless of whether they ultimately sign up to train with me or not.

So yes, I coughed. And guess what? Life went on.

Don’t Get Too Wedded to Your Dream

In October I realized a long-held dream of getting onto Oprah’s radar when I was interviewed for O magazine on how to feel more confidence.

When the issue finally came out I was so excited I babbled to the cashier, the other customers at the newsstand, truly anyone with a pulse – “I’m in this magazine!!!”

As honored as I was, in all honestly, my real dream was to be a guest on Oprah’s TV show.

But the show ended its 25 year run a mere two months after my book came out. Talk about a near miss.

What I learned from this experience is that people don’t fail to achieve a dream.

The failure is giving up when things don’t turn out the way we imagined.

I’ve had plenty of clients who fantasized about owning a bed and breakfast, but they didn’t have the money to buy their own place.

Happily, some discovered it much more satisfying (and less stressful) to have B&B owners who need a break to pay them to be bed and breakfast sitters instead.

Others realized that the part they really liked was the idea of decorating the place. Washing sheets and making breakfast at 6am… not so much. So they pursued decorating instead.

As the Rolling Stones reminded us, “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you just might get what you need.”

When it comes to changing course, money – or rather the lack of it – stops a lot of people in their tracks.

So to help, I’ve put together a five-part series on creative ways to fund your dream.

You may not be able to take advantage of every idea or resource. In fact, none of the five ideas may be right for you and your personal situation. You need to read them anyway. Why?

First, the strategy that may not be a fit for you today may indeed be the one that launches your dream a few years from now.

Second, just knowing that options truly do exist will remind you that your crazy dream is not so crazy after all.

And finally, one of the ideas or resources you see here may be perfect for someone you know. Pass it on and you just might change a life!

Strategy #5: Know Your Options

Ever wondered how most successful small business owners get the money to launch?

Entrepreneur magazine did and what they found might surprise you!

Of businesses less than five years old, with annual sales in excess of $1 million, a whopping 69 percent started out by using their own money to fund their business.

Going it alone, pulling yourself and your business up by your bootstraps otherwise known as “bootstrapping” is all about getting things done while spending as little as possible and not raising outside financing.

OPTION 2: Debt Financing – Borrowing with the expectation that you will repay the loan

Borrowing from friends and family

Borrowing money from a bank

Borrowing from a micro-lender

OPTION 3: Equity Financing – Getting others to invest in your dream in exchange for a financial stake in your business

Friends and Family

Other “Small” Investors

Angel Investors/Professional Investors/Venture Capitalists

OPTION 4: Getting a grant

Private Grants

Government Grants and Other Assistance

Grants for Social Entrepreneurs

Grants and Funding for Creative Types

Grants for Non-profits

OPTION 5: Crowdfunding via sites like Kickstarter or Indigogo

Friends and family

Your social network

Total strangers who support your dream

You can stick to just one option. For instance, I bootstrapped the start-up of Changing Course and then continually re-invested earnings back into the business as needed.

Or you can put together various combinations.

Say you wanted to open an art gallery. You could kick in some of your own money, get a loan from your Aunt Gracie, and secure a grant from a local arts council.

So what option do successful small business people use? According to that same Entrepreneur survey:

Private investors — 21 percent

Friends and family — 21 percent

Line of credit from a bank (presumably using their home or other property as collateral) — 18 percent

Bank loans — 12 percent

Credit cards — 10 percent

Know How Much You Need

Before you can even consider how you’ll get the funds, you need to know how much money you need.

If your goal is to start a small, one-person, home-based business as say a freelance writer, consultant/coach, or web designer then you’ll probably need relatively little start-up money. In this case Option 1 – bootstrapping is the way to go.

But what if you have what I call a “Big Dream”? In the past I’ve worked with clients who wanted to:

Open a dude ranch in the Canadian Rockies

Start a non-profit to help impoverished people in South Africa sell their crafts

In other words, the amount of money you need to change course depends on your business needs and your plans for growth.

Assess Your Entire Situation

Once you know how much money you’ll need, you need to decide which funding option is right for you. Which strategy you choose depends on three things:

1) Your current financial obligations or circumstances

2) Your comfort level with risk

3) How quickly you want to change course

For example:

If you have a couple of kids about to enter college you’re in a very different financial situation than if you’re a 21-year-old who just graduated college and is living at home

If you’re the sole provider of a family, either as a single parent or part of a two-parent family, you’re in a different situation than someone who is only responsible for themselves

If you’re an individual that makes a lot of money but are drowning in credit card debt, you face different challenges than if you earn far less but spend within your means

If you find yourself faced with a “once in a lifetime” chance to purchase a special piece of property or a coveted business that’s up for sale then you may be willing to take out a loan, court investors, or otherwise assume a greater financial risk in order to seize the day

The Benefits of Bootstrapping

Even if you ultimately decide to use other options, starting out, the easiest way to fund your new business is to use your own money.

After all, you don’t have to fill out any applications or worry about your credit score. There are no investors to try to woo. And you don’t have to worry about repaying anyone.

At least that’s what Shep and Ian Murray discovered.

After graduating college the two brothers felt stifled in their respective Manhattan desk jobs. They longed for the laid back days of summer they’d spent as kids on Martha’s Vineyard.

So inspired by the mega-success of another Massachusetts island business Nantucket Nectars, they quit their jobs in 1998, took a $7,000 cash advance from their credit cards, and launched designer neck tie business Vineyard Vines.

In true bootstrapping style, they ran the business themselves for the first two years. Today they have a whole team of employees.

Things have really accelerated in the last five years. The Murray’s went from a single Edgartown retail store to:

Having their ties worn by every living president as well as other high-profilers as John Kerry, New York Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg and financier Warren Buffett

They’re on track to generate $100 million in sales thanks in large part to the decision to invest in their business by expanding to offer a complete clothing line for men, women, and children

Doubled the number of stores to 20, including new locations as far away as Plano, Texas, and Newport Beach, California

And signed licensing deals with the NFL, NHL, and MLB

And Vineyard Vines’ clothing is the “official style” of the Kentucky Derby

Not bad for a couple of bootstrappers!

Whether you want to build an empire as the Murray’s ultimately did, or are just looking to start a small self-sustaining business, the fundamental steps to funding a business remain the same.

Step 1: Believe in your dream

Step 2: Find a way to fund it that best fits your situation and goals

Step 3: Take action!

Ready to start bootstrapping your own dream? Start with one of these strategies from the entire 5 Ways to Fund Your Dream series:

You want to make the leap from having a boss to being your own boss. The only problem? M-o-n-e-y!

I wish I could tell you there was a 1-800-Free-Money hotline. Or give you the name of some government office that writes big, no-strings attached checks so people like you can just up and quit your job to start a business.

But I can’t. So that means you have to find another way.

Strategy #4: Barter

When freelance photographer Roger William Theise found out I was from Massachusetts he positively gushed about a recent vacation to Cape Cod. He was especially taken with the charming seaside village of Chatham, home of the famous lighthouse.

So the Ithaca, New York-based shutterbug approached the keepers at one of the more upscale inns with a unique proposal.

Roger would take flattering pictures of the inn and once back at his studio he’d email the best shots. If the owners were unimpressed, they were free to keep the photos no questions asked.

However, if innkeeper liked what they saw, then Roger would be rewarded with a free one-week stay the following summer. It worked!

The enterprising photographer could have made the same pitch to owners of restaurants, clothing stores, fishing expedition boats, gourmet shops… The possibilities are endless!

More importantly, there’s no reason why the timeless practice of bartering couldn’t work for start-ups too.

What Do You Need?

If you have an idea you haven’t acted on – or began only to stall – ask yourself this question:

What do I need right this minute to get my business moving?

If you’re like most people, your first response is “money.”

It’s entirely possible that you’ll need a hefty business loan or an infusion of cash from angel investors later on.

But in the pre-launch phase most people tend to have more specific needs. Needs that have to do with gaining practical experience, training, knowledge or information, or all of above.

Things like…

training in how to use Quickbooks®, Adobe Illustrator, Final Cut Pro, or another type of software

someone to write a grant proposal for that non-profit you want to start

advice, mentoring, or coaching

someone to help you put together a crowd-sourcing campaign so you can raise tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) in start-up costs

marketing help

professional editing of your screenplay, book, or information product

the opportunity to assist or shadow someone doing the kind of work you’d like to do

web-design or tech support

A professional headshot or product shots

Some of these things you can get at no cost by reading QuickBooks for Dummie’s or tapping a grant-savvy friend or relative to walk you through the process.

Other times what you need is going to cost you. If funds are tight, then bartering might be the perfect solution. After all, everyone has something they can offer in exchange. You can:

run errands

cook or bake

care for kids or pets

proof-read

prepare taxes

organize things (files, garages, closets)

hem clothes

do research

clean

do basic home or auto repair…

In fact, if you know how to edit, take great photographs, write grant proposals or do any of the things on the list above – then you have something to barter.

5 Rules for Barters

Once you’ve determined what you have to give in return, consider these five rules of etiquette before, during, or after any barter.

1) Make sure the other party wants what you have.

If the person lives with a professional chef, your offer to prepare and freeze a week’s worth of dinners probably won’t fly. Nor does it make sense to pitch pet-sitting to someone who doesn’t own animals.

Instead, make a list of things you can offer in exchange and let the other person choose.

2) Make sure the exchange is relatively even.

Someone once asked me to wave their entire $3,000 seminar fee and wanted me cover their travel expenses to boot. What would I get out of the deal? A couple of hours handling the registration desk – something I could hire out for under $100.

I understand it’s not always possible to do a perfectly even exchange. After all how do you put a price on spending a weekend shadowing the director of a successful sports camp as some of my own clients have done? But common sense should lead you to propose something that’s more equitable.

3) Get the agreement in writing.

Taking the time to summarize the agreement in writing can save a lot of headaches or even resentments later on.

You don’t need a formal document. A simple email thanking the person and asking if the terms you’ve outlined reflect their understanding will suffice.

4) Do what you said you’d do – and then some.

Unfortunately I’ve been on the receiving end of less than satisfactory barter agreements. So while it should go without saying, make sure you follow through and do an outstanding job.

And if the value of what you’re getting exceeds what you’re giving then find a way to exceed the agreed upon expectations. Show up with or send some home-made treats or flowers. Offer to stay late. Or do more than agreed upon exchange. What you do is less important than that you express your appreciation.

5) Be gracious.

Bartering with someone you don’t know is a leap of faith. If you initiated the barter, make sure you take the time to send a hand-written thank you card.

What about you?

Do you have a successful (or horror) barter story to share? What tips would you add to this list? I’d love to hear from you!

You want to make the leap from having a boss to being your own boss. The only problem? M-o-n-e-y!

I wish I could tell you there was a 1-800-Free-Money hotline. Or give you the name of some government office that writes big, no-strings attached checks so people like you can just up and quit your job to start a business.

But I can’t. So that means you have to find another way.

This next idea (#3 in my 5 Ways to Fund Your Dream series) is so simple that you may have overlooked it.

Best of all… anyone can do it.

Strategy #3 Make and Stash Some Extra Cash

For the last nine-and-a-half years of her life, my mother worked as a custodian at a local state university. It was the only way she could see to earn a pension since my Dad didn’t have one.

One of the perks of the job is that college students consume a lot of cans of soda – and beer. And for my Mom that meant extra cash.

Before you make up your mind that this kind of money isn’t nearly enough to fully achieve your dream, ask yourself instead how even small chunks of money might move you closer to your dream?

In other words:

How many photography, cooking, woodworking, beekeeping, or marketing classes could you take?

What kind of advanced training could you get in coaching, solar energy consulting, horticulture or wherever your interests lay?

What supplies or books could you buy?

What kind of equipment could you purchase or upgrade?

How much of someone else’s time could you buy in terms of business coaching, housecleaning, or administrative assistance?

I’m not suggesting you start collecting cans off the roadside (although plenty of people do and they aren’t all homeless). In fact, there may be ways you can make extra money that will also bring you closer to your dream.

For instance, if you love to paint and you enjoy teaching others check out a company called Paint Nites. The brainchild of co-founder Dan Hermann, Paint Nite® “is a new concept blending two timeless pastimes: painting and drinking cocktails.”

Bars and restaurants with an extra room win because they get paying customers in the door on a slow night to enjoy a drink while taking a fun painting class.

Artists and teachers win because they earn the majority of class fees while Paint Nite® does most of the marketing.

Paint Nite® wins because they profit from a smaller share of the class fees and they get a free venue for their classes.

To learn more and to apply to either host a class or teach one, go here.

Maybe sewing, quilting, jewelry making, or other crafts or hobbies like photography or scrapbooking are more your thing. If so check out You Can Make This.

How it works is, you create the design and the how-to guide and the company features it on their site. When someone buys it, you as the content publisher earn 50 percent of the sale price.

I interviewed company founder Kim Christopherson maybe five years ago. Turns out after just one year, her website was so successful that husband Ryan was able to quit his job to work with Kim full time.

How did she start? It all began when she turned to eBay to earn extra money by selling her crafts.

So, what about you? What can you do to bring in an extra $100-$200 a month?

If you love to shop can you snag great designer clothes at Goodwill, Salvation Army or close out sales and sell them at pricier consignment shops or online?

Could you tutor kids in math or language or an instrument?

Can you make extra money teaching, consulting, or supervising others on how to write a grant, wallpaper a room, build a tree house, use Adobe Illustrator® or anything else where you have some knowledge or skills?

Everyone has stuff you don’t need that you can sell on eBay or Craigslist? Heck I have a dozen old Starbuck’s city series coffee mugs I bought for $10-15 each that now fetch $40-$90 just sitting in a cupboard.

There are all sorts of ways to earn extra money – money you can specifically earmark toward starting your small business.

What you’ll soon realize is that the money itself isn’t the important part. The important part is that you will have taken proactive steps to get from where you are to where you want to be.

When it comes to changing course, money – or rather the lack of it – stops a lot of people in their tracks.

So to help, I’ve put together a five-part series on creative ways to fund your dream.

You may not be able to take advantage of every idea or resource. In fact, none of the five ideas may be right for you and your personal situation. You need to read them anyway. Why?

First, the strategy that may not be a fit for you today may indeed be the one that launches your dream a few years from now.

Second, just knowing that options truly do exist will remind you that your crazy dream is not so crazy after all.

And finally, one of the ideas or resources you see here may be perfect for someone you know. Pass it on and you just might change a life!

Strategy #2: Get Your Priorities Right

Comedian and actor Chris Rock remarked in an interview, “Having money doesn’t make you rich. Having options makes you rich.”

Arianne and Scott Bennett didn’t have either. The couple desperately wanted to travel. But they didn’t have any expendable income.

However they were both able to afford their $4.50 pack a day cigarette habit. Smoking had become a priority.

So in 1998 they both decided to quit and stash the money they saved into a travel fund. Ten months later the couple had enough money to fly to Amsterdam where some friends had recently moved.

They loved the canals and the old world charm. But what Arianne and Scott really fell in love with were the many falafel shops. So they returned to the states to open their first Amsterdam Falafel shop and today run a booming franchise business.

Arianne and Scott’s dream began with a simple decision to put their money into something that would bring them joy. Can you say that about where your money goes?

If not, where can you cut back? Could you cancel or downgrade a pricey cable bill. Pack your lunch. Skip the daily latte. Whatever you do be sure you redirect the money you save into a special Dream Account.

Throughout his life Waino had a series of low-paying jobs, including school bus driver and hired hand at a dairy farm. Linda started out as an English teacher but soon discovered a love of making pottery.

For the last 30 years she’s thrown pots in her well-lit basement studio. In the spring and fall, Linda teaches pottery classes at a local college. And for a few weeks each summer, she runs classes for kids in her studio.

Of course like everyone, there are times when, Linda feels pressured by the demands for her work. But while her employed friends get a measly 2-3 weeks of vacation, Linda takes ten.

The couple grows much of their own food. So she takes three weeks off in May to plant their massive vegetable garden. The entire month of August is spent reading books, playing cards, and swimming at a rustic cottage on a remote lake in Maine that the couple own with Linda’s sister and her husband.

After a hectic few month run up to the busy Christmas craft season Linda takes three weeks off in January to cross country ski from her front door and to catch up on things around the house.

This isn’t Linda’s only vacation time. In the last few years she and a friend cross-country skied their way across a part of Switzerland, spent a week with other long-time friends and me in Cozumel Mexico, and last year she accompanied a friend to Ecuador.

Did I mention that Linda and Waino’s combined income has never been more than $50,000? If you’re wondering how they can do all of this and still afford to take over ten weeks off a year, it has everything to do with priorities.

The couple prides themselves on living a full but frugal life. Ardent environmentalists, they repair rather than replace, buy only what they need and for everything else they go used, barter with friends, or go without. They raise chickens for the eggs and grow and preserve a fair amount of their own food.

The mortgage on their small but comfortable home has long been paid off and they have more saved for retirement than the vast majority of those earning two-to-three times more.

If you live in pricy areas like New York City, Boston, or San Francisco it’s not always easy to live on less. So if you’re ready for a change of scenery, consider relocating to a more affordable place where your dollar will go much further.

If you’re up for re-prioritizing in a big way, you could always go international. Running an existing portable business or starting a new business in another country is actually pretty doable. There are ex-pats opening cafes, using Skype to continue to work with clients back home, and importing crafts and other products back home.

Getting a job in another country can be a major challenge, but it’s not impossible. The reason Linda went to Ecuador was to accompany a friend who couldn’t afford to retire in the U.S. and wanted to check things out. On her first visit the friend got a job teaching English and has since relocated there full-time.

Nor do you need to move, raise your own chickens or grow your own food. But, if you’re serious about finding a way to fund your dream – and enjoy more life – then consider ways you can live on less. In a word: Prioritize.

As Margaret Young said:

“Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.”

When it comes to changing course, money – or rather the lack of it – stops a lot of people in their tracks.

So to help, I’ve put together a five-part series on creative ways to fund your dream.

You may not be able to take advantage of every idea or resource. In fact, none of the five ideas may be right for you and your personal situation. You need to read them anyway. Why?

First, the strategy that may not be a fit for you today may indeed be the one that launches your dream a few years from now.

Second, just knowing that options truly do exist will remind you that your crazy dream is not so crazy after all.

And finally, one of the ideas or resources you see here may be perfect for someone you know. Pass it on and you just might change a life!

Idea #1: Find a Contest Related to Your Dream and Enter It

If you’re a writer or an artist or you love to make music or fancy cakes or you have a great business idea or a host of other things, why not enter a contest?

If you think it’s a total long-shot let me tell you about my friend Dyan DiNapoli aka The Penguin Lady.

Dyan didn’t enter a contest. But she did have a dream of working with sea animals at an aquarium. Not everyone supported her decision to go back to college to pursue the required degree.

It’s not that they thought she wasn’t up to the task. Rather they worried that the odds were not good, telling Dyan, “It’s too competitive.”

I loved Dyan’s response: “I just kept reminding myself – somebody’s going to get that cool job. It might as well be me.”

The same thing applies here. Someone is going to win that contest. It might as well be you!

In fact, it was a contest that launched the writing career of a registered nurse named Elizabeth Berg. Her first attempt came at nine when she entered a poem contest in American Girl magazine. Twenty five years later Elizabeth entered and won a writing contest sponsored by another magazine.

She penned magazine articles for ten years before writing her first novel. Today Elizabeth has numerous New York Times best-selling books to her name.

To be clear, entering a contest is not the same as sitting on your hands hoping to hit the lottery. Rather in each case you actually have to take positive action in order to win.

Finally the great thing about entering a contest is that even if you don’t win the contest you’ll still have won because you’ll have improved your craft and learned a ton along the way.That’s how some of the biggest Agency SEO have made it.

To get your own creative juices flowing, I’ve pulled together three of the countless contests happening this very moment.

I grew up hearing about winners of the Pillsbury Bake-Off. The prize back then was $10,000. No small sum at the time.

Today the grand prize is a cool $1 million and a spot on Queen Latifa’s show! To learn about all of the recent winners of the 46th bake-off – and most importantly — to get on their list for news of the next one, go here.

Pillsbury isn’t the only game in town. King Arthur flour sponsors baking contests at dozens of state fairs.

And if cake decorating is your thing this Cake Decorating Classes site lists upcoming contests in the US, Canada and the UK.

Baking and cooking contests are so popular that there are entire websites dedicated to the topic – which is a cool business idea itself. Two I found are Cooking Contest Central and Contest Cook.

Since 1997 this international songwriting contest has awarded millions in prize money and products to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in 12 categories including rock, hip hop, Latin, gospel, country, children’s, and more.

The contest is open year-round and features two sessions — with 72 Finalists, 24 Grand Prize Winners, 12 Lennon Award Winners and 1 “Song of the Year.”

You don’t need a professional recording and instrumental compositions are encouraged. Entries will be judged on originality, melody, composition, and (when applicable) lyrics.

This year’s prize packages total over $300,000.00! Among the judges are Bob Weir, Jesse Harris, The Black Eyed Peas, The Bacon Brothers and The Veronicas!

What if you don’t win? Then enter another one and another one until you do.

Your Turn

Know of another contest? Get an aha? Or even just a boost of inspiration? Great! Scroll down to post your thoughts and ideas here!

Announcement: Registration for the Spring 2014 Profiting from Your Passions® career expert training starts soon. If you love to think outside the job box and help others, get on the Priority Notification page to learn more.

When you think about it, career counselors and coaches are in the business of helping you move from where you are to where you want to be. In other words, changing your work and life are by definition all about the future.

Gratitude on the other hand is very much about the present.

It’s not always easy to be grateful when what you want is freedom, control over your time, and the satisfaction of knowing that the work you do matters. But what you have instead is a soul sucking job that leaves you no time to see, never mind smell, the roses.

Yet if you really want to make a positive change, it’s imperative to shift from a state of constant yearning for what you don’t have to being mindful of those blessings, however small, that you do have… right now.

Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin talked about this concept in their groundbreaking book Your Money or Your Life writing,

“So much dissatisfaction comes from focusing on what we don’t have that the simple exercise of acknowledging and valuing what we do have can transform our outlook.” Said another way, ungrateful people make lousy self-change agents.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that there are a lot of people in dire circumstances. Circumstances made all the more difficult during this holiday season.

Yet, say Dominguez and Robin, “Once we are above the survival levels, the difference between prosperity and poverty lies simply in our degree of gratitude.”

Even during my most financially challenging and emotionally discouraging days (and trust me there have been many), I still knew that I was blessed.

After all, I can see. I can hear. I have all my limbs. I am, God-willing, free of disease.

I can walk down my street in relative safety. I have food and a home and heat.

I have clean water, access to medical care, transportation.

I have friends and family who love me. And I am blessed to have all of you.

Living life from a perspective of gratitude is not just an exercise in happy thinking. According to Melody Beattie there are actual tangible benefits:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity… It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

On the bulletin board at my post office hangs a quote from the Women’s Theology Center in Boston. It reads, “We must go slowly, there’s not much time.”

Achieving a dream takes hard work, perseverance, and, yes, time. Life is too short to put off happiness until we have achieved our goal. With a dream, as with life, the journey is just as important as the destination.

As you enjoy a drink of clean water, a warm bed or the company of a loved one this Thanksgiving season and every day, pause and be grateful for what and who is in your life right now.

Take positive action to go after that better future. But also be here now… and savor the journey.

What are YOU grateful for today? Take a moment to scroll down and share.
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What do you think it takes to create a successful business? Money? Time? Both?

Before I answer that question I’d like you to meet someone who came up with a great idea on a Saturday, was in business by Monday and grew sales to the $1 million mark in a single year.

Her name is Maria Elena Ibanez.

It all started at a routine appointment at her hairdresser. There she happened to strike up a conversation with another customer who had a background in the Latino food business.

This impromptu meeting stimulated Maria Elena’s hunger… for opportunity. So much so that in that instant she made up her mind to become a major player in the Latino food industry.

That was in 2002.

By the end of year one, her business, Intermark Foods had $1 million in sales from four food products. By 2009 Maria Elena had led her company into the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Company for three years running.

It’s important to note that Maria Elena already had a background in business. In fact, she’d already launched two successful international computer distribution businesses and sold one. So, starting a business was nothing new.

But this new enterprise took her into an entirely different industry. In fact she knew nothing about the food business what so ever. Zip. Nada.

What she lacked in industry knowledge, Maria Elena made up for in her confidence to act on an opportunity when she saw one.

So, what can you learn from this “weekend business launcher” that can help you jumpstart your own entrepreneurial dreams? Plenty! Here are 5 essential lessons to get you started

Lesson 1: Find People Who Know More Than You Do

Stop thinking you need to know everything before you can begin. As Woodrow Wilson once said, “I use all the brains I have and all that I can borrow.”

There are lots of ways to tap the expertise of other people. You can partner with a subject matter expert, you can apprentice with an expert, you can pay someone to consult with you from time to time, or all of the above. The key is to ask!

Lesson 2: Create Your Own Crash Course

You don’t need to get an MBA or have worked in a field for 20 years to figure out the basics. Maria Elena ordered a couple of cases of books on Amazon and spent a few weeks creating her own crash course in the food and grocery industry.

Pretend your boss told you to put together a three month self-paced training program on how to make money growing irises in your backyard or how to get a syndicated talk radio show. You’d figure it out right?

If you want to be self-employed you need to start acting like the boss of you! Get busy making a list of what you need to know to move your dream forward.

Next create a plan for how you will learn what it is you need to know. Will you do a web search? Read a book? Make a phone call?

Then take one small step, and another and another until you have completed the plan.

Lesson 3: Trust Your Instincts

How many times have you seen a great business idea only to second guess yourself because you told yourself, it’s too “obvious”? Or, “If it’s such a good idea someone would have done it by now.” Nonsense.

Maria Elena built her brand by targeting an under-served niche in the Latin food market — dairy foods. How did she know to specialize there? Simple. She walked the aisles in the supermarket and looked for what was missing.

The key is to trust your instincts. If something looks like an opportunity, acts like an opportunity, and your gut is screaming, “Yes!” then pay attention!

Lesson 4: See Problems as Opportunities

Successful business owners understand that opportunities often come disguised as problems. For instance, Maria Elena could have pulled back during the slow economy. Instead she capitalized on it.

Cheaper rent and more available brainpower looking for work are just two reasons why she says an economic downturn is the best time to start a business.

What problem can you capitalize on right now? Lost your job? Can you use the extra time between job hunting to read a book on marketing or create a small profit center?

No idea what kind of business you could start that might actually build on the things you enjoy doing? Make a list of friends who know you well enough to recognize your unique gifts or interests who may recall any long lost dreams you’ve perhaps lost sight of.

Then invite them to help you come up with business ideas that would make best use of your own unique genius. Warning: Only invite friends who support your desire to be your own boss. Otherwise your brainstorming session will probably lead you back to working in a cubicle.

If that doesn’t work, hire an entrepreneurially-minded career coach who knows how to connect the dots between what you like to do and how you can make your own job doing it.

Lesson 5: Free Yourself From Analysis Paralysis

I know people who are still working on a business plan or website they began nearly a decade ago. They constantly plan and tinker and research and think… But they never launch.

Notice Maria Elena did not spend years, months, or even weeks locked in analysis paralysis. She made a decision one day and two days later was in full blown action mode.

She acted so fast in fact that the Latino food expert Eric Lefkofsky she met at her hairdressers on Saturday reported to work in Ms. Ibanez’s home office on Monday!

The Bottom Line

You don’t have to run out and start an empire tomorrow. But imagine what you could do if you just dove in and started somewhere…. anywhere!

Will you make mistakes along the way? I certainly hope so. Because if you aren’t making mistakes, then you’re not learning anything.

Will you go from $0 to a million dollars in a year? Clearly Maria Elena Ibanez’s story proves that some people do. But this is definitely the exception.

Does that mean you shouldn’t start? Not at all.

It took me seven years before I became an “overnight success!” However, if I’d understood these simple lessons earlier, I’m certain I could have cut that time in half.

There’s one more thing I wish I’d had more of sooner. And it’s not what you think.

You see, everyone thinks it takes money to make money. Not true. I’ve had clients who had lots of money. Some had both money and plenty of time to launch a business. And in all cases, I was able to help them craft a viable idea for their first profit center.

And yet they still couldn’t get out of their own way for one reason and one reason only: Lack of confidence.

You see, it really takes just two things to change course: A good idea and the confidence to act on it.

What about you?

Do you have a great idea but lack the confidence to act? Do you have abundant confidence but are stuck on the idea part? Do you have both? Neither?

It happened when I hired a guy to perform the inspection on the new house I’m buying. I quickly learned that John has 11 children.

If that wasn’t amazing enough, he and his wife are getting set to pack the family into a huge caravan and crisscross the United State home schooling (or should I say “road schooling”) the kids as they go.

(Okay they’ll need a bigger car than this one and you need to substitute a bunch of boxes for a whole bunch of kids… but you get the idea.)

So how can a guy who inspects houses for a living afford to take several years off from working to travel and spend time with his family?

Turns out he and his oldest son developed an app for his smart phone that makes the capture and sharing of inspection information both easier for the inspector and more user-friendly for the consumer.

They’re about to license their SaaS to a group of housing inspectors for a cool quarter of a million dollars. Cha-Ching!

That got me thinking about how a lot of people – and women especially – shy away from technology-related business ideas. That’s a real shame because we’re losing out on tremendous financial opportunities.

For example, yesterday I emailed you about a woman named Esther from the Netherlands.

Esther is a busy mom with zero entrepreneurial experience who started a successful software business in her living room.

What’s remarkable is that she didn’t have any idea what she was going to create. And she had only limited money to invest in a business.

Even more surprising, she has no experience in software. None!

So, how did she do it?

Esther’s journey began when she stopped thinking “I have to be an expert” and started thinking “find painful problems.”

If that doesn’t make sense yet, that’s ok. It will soon…

Because once you find whole a bunch of people who all share a common painful problem then you’ve got the essential foundation from which to launch a highly profitable small business.

In John’s case, it was other home inspectors. For Esther, it was photographers.

But it could also be any business owners or practitioners: Auto-mechanics, restaurant owners, personal trainers, chiropractors, or attorneys. The list is endless

Talk to people who are in the same occupation or situation and I guarantee you’ll learn about a shared problem or challenge.

John already knew the challenges he and other home inspectors faced. And his son was a self-described geek.

But Esther created a business from nothing by simply asking questions, selling her product before it existed, and using that money to hire an expert to build the product for her!

Okay so how does this process work? I’m sure you have plenty of questions…

You’re not alone!

Which is why I’m hosting an Educational No-Pitch Webinar called:

How to Find Product Ideas And Pre-sell Them Before You Build Them (And Then How to Find & Hire Experts to Build the Product for You!)

It’s going to happen live on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 1:00PM.

The Webinar is being taught by Dane Maxwell.

Dane was referred to me by a trusted mutual friend who until recently was the educational director at the mega-affiliate site Clickbank. And the referral came just a week after my house inspection.

Both of these tidbits are important because as much as I hate to admit it, I’m wary of things I don’t understand.

You see, despite running an online business since 1998, I’m not the least bit technically-savvy. (Just ask my assistant Lisa!)

I mean before I met Dane I’d never heard the term “SaaS.” Now I know it stands for “software as a service” and according to Wikipedia the SaaS market is b-o-o-m-i-n-g.

So I sat in on one of Dane’s webinars and was practically jumping out of my seat with excitement about the possibilities for those searching for a viable way to become your own boss.

If you want to learn how Esther and others have created a recurring stream of income with no idea, limited money, and no software experience for settlement and annuity – then you do not want to miss this educational, no-pitch Webinar.

How to Find Product Ideas And Pre-sell Them Before You Build Them (And Then How to Find & Hire Experts to Build the Product for You!)

In a 2010 issue of More Bailey Jack recounts the years she spent in low pay, low satisfaction jobs. Her true love was art.

But everyone “knows” there’s no money in art… right?

Sadly, like so many people who fail to listen to their heart, Bailey had lost her way.

It wasn’t until her 50s that she finally found her footing and with it a new livelihood as a working artist.

Even if she’d wanted to take classes, Bailey couldn’t afford them. So she taught herself to paint. And as it turns out she was really, really good at it.

But how could painting ever pay the bills?

After all she worked from 3am to noon, including weekends and holidays. Since she could never attend weekend art shows she never bothered to apply.

And on her meager earnings she couldn’t afford to buy canvases anyway.

“A vicious cycle became my life,” writes Bailey.

Then one day while she was painting in her studio, a neighbor named Dr. Pam Barge came knocking. The certified life coach, and now friend, sat Bailey down for a long talk.

Pam told her that without some sort of roadmap… a plan… Bailey would keep going in circles and getting exactly nowhere.

It was a break through moment for Bailey. “Sometimes a stranger has to open your eyes and ears to hear what your heart is speaking,” she said.

That very night, before going to her “dreaded, low pay unhappy environment job,” she wrote out a six month plan. One that would focus on the steps she needed to take and ways to overcome the obstacles holding her back.

That’s when Bailey came up with a creative way a way to afford “canvas.” After all, any surface can be a canvas. Right?

So she began to use whatever was available. She painting on bead board, vintage doors, cast away wood, even recycled cabinet doors. But she needed more. But with no money… what to do?

She approached a contractor whose yard was filled with discarded kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately he wasn’t interested in giving them away or selling them.

Sadly a lot of people would have given up. Not Bailey.

Instead she painted a portrait of the contractor’s dog and offered it to him for free.

It worked!

Before long the guy was stacking old doors on her front porch by the dozens.

Bailey also squirreled away bits of money to pay the fees to get into juried art shows and began approaching galleries.

It was in one of these galleries where a buyer from HGTV saw one of her paintings and promptly bought it for one of the shows.

From there Bailey’s art career took off. Check out a small sampling of her delightful work here.

Today her creations, all in the same whimsical style as the dog and Princess Leyla paintings shown here, are featured in galleries throughout Georgia and Florida.

She gets to travel the southeast to attend juried shows. And a once far off dream is her livelihood.

Best of all say Bailey, “I love the fact that I am creating everyday some image that may make someone happy.”

Finally putting an end to what Bailey so perfectly described as her “ridiculous journey of avoidance,” came down to two simple steps:

Listen to where your heart wants to go and

Devise a concrete roadmap to get there.

Whether you’re 25, 55, or 75 — life is way too short to avoid your dreams. So what’s your plan?

Much of my own inspiration comes from you my readers. People like Mary Alice Murphy who wrote to share her story.

Mary Alice lives in Silver City, New Mexico, a place she describes as “a gorgeous little town in far southwest New Mexico tucked into mountains with desert not too many miles away.”

Mary Alice spent most of the first five decades of her life not really knowing what she wanted to be “when she grew up.” Then at 58, it happened!

That’s when Mary Alice realized she wanted to be a newspaper reporter. She worked for a small local paper for ten years before being laid off at 68.

Most people in the same predicament would have just retired. But did I mention Mary Alice loves being a reporter?

“I not only continued being a newspaper reporter, but” says Mary Alice, “four days after being laid off, I had The Grant County Beat — my own local online news source — up and running.”

Overnight she went from employee to small business owner.

That meant needing to tackle things like becoming an LLC, getting financial advice, and finding a good but affordable webmaster.

By far though, the biggest challenge is the same one that dogs all off and on-line publications – generating ad revenue to pay the bills.

There are two things that are getting Mary Alice through this inevitable lean phase typical of the first few years of any business.

First there was the support of friends, some of whom she’s enlisted as unpaid or in her words “pitifully paid” writers.

The other thing that keeps Mary Alice going, “are the wonderful testimonials I receive from friends, as well as strangers, about how my news is ‘the best in town,’” she says, adding, “I thrive on compliments.”

Who doesn’t! In fact, I find central to most of my own clients’ dreams is the desire to somehow make a difference in the lives of others.

Mary Alice found her passion at 58 and then changed course in a big way at 68. Happily for both her and her many readers, the Beat goes on.

If you’ve followed me for any of the 18 years I’ve been writing this newsletter then you may be stunned by what I’m about to say.

You don’t necessarily need to love your work in order to lead a happy, fulfilling life.

Let me be clear…

I’m not saying you shouldn’t pursue satisfying work. What I am saying is that misconceptions about what it means to find a “calling” or “passion” undermine a lot of dreams.

This is especially true for people who identify with the Barbara Sher concept of being a “scanner.”

Unlike “divers” who pursue one interest and specialize, scanners have many diverse interests. They like shopping for bargains and they like coming up with ideas for inventions and they like pet photography and they like teaching classes…

As a consequence scanners are easily bored with repetition. They lose interest once they’ve mastered something. As such scanners have a hard time sticking with one thing for fear that if they say ‘yes’ to one thing then they must say ‘no’ to their other interests.

Are You Really a “Scanner”?

Some people really are true Renaissance souls.

However, there’s a far more common reason why people jump from passion to passion never really following through on anything.

Somewhere along the way we got the idea that in order to qualify as a “true” calling that our work should never feel like, well, work.

Let’s take the analogy of finding and then maintaining a healthy relationship with a mate. Done right and the two of you will be together for many happy years to come.

But buy into the eternal passion myth and you’re headed for disappointment.

That’s because when you’re in the courting stage all you see is how amazing your beloved is. Perfect really. You want to spend every waking moment together and each moment you do is more incredible than the last.

At some point, however, some of the magic is bound to wear off. Habits you once found endearing, begin to grate on you and the intensity of new romance starts to fade.

Clearly we haven’t found our soul mate after all. So you part ways and the quest to find the real Mr. or Ms. Right begins anew.

This same cycle of euphoria followed by eventual disillusion happens with work as well.

To be a “true” passion, we believe our work should feel like play. Not just sometimes, but every moment of every day. Not just some parts, but every part.

Pretty soon you’re bound to run into something that’s difficult or unpleasant.

You need to figure out how to set up a website or navigate import-export regulations or actually get out there and talk to potential clients or market our business or like me, deal with the hassles of flying to speaking gigs.

Heck, that’s no fun!

You think, “Apparently I haven’t found my passion after all!” So you quit and the search for your “true” calling begins all over again.

What’s The Solution?

By all means, you should enjoy that initial passion phase. After all there is nothing like discovering a long lost love for painting or antiquing or inspiring people.

Just realize that maintaining a satisfying relationship with your new livelihood will require commitment, effort, compromise, and a willingness to ride out the inevitable bad days or sometimes even years.

Believe it or not, this is actually really good news.

Because once you understand that you don’t have to feel passionate about the work part, means you have more options.

For example, I had a client who loved to sing opera. He was actively engaged with a local opera company and wanted more practice time than his demanding job allowed. But at 54 and living nowhere near a major city never mind New York, the guy knew he was not going to earn his living singing.

So the goal shifted instead to finding a means of self-employment that would allow him to pursue his passion on the side. Think of it as the self-employment equivalent of the Barbara Sher concept of the “good enough job.”

Instead the good enough business is one you create so you can afford to sing, ballroom dance, train service dogs, or whatever it is you really like to do, on the side.

This is important because people have become so enamored with finding a passion that they miss out on perfectly good business opportunities.

Take Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams for instance. The two friends saw a need for affordable office space for women business owners in Manhattan. So they founded a company that leases private and shared workspaces.

Are Adelaide and Amy fulfilling a lifelong dream of being property managers? Probably not.

What they did do was to recognize a need and built a profitable business designed to meet it.

And, as importantly, they built a business that allows them to have control over their life and time. And isn’t that the whole point?

Still digging in your heels on the passion thing?

Then you might want to take a little trip to the Texas State Fair. That’s where you’ll meet food vendor Abel Gonzales Jr. Abel is perhaps most famous (or to some, infamous) for coming up with the idea for fried butter. (Check out the list of other creative fried food winners.)

How passionate would you be to spend 24 consecutive days in a food trailer toiling at a fry station in the Texas heat for 15 hours a day? Not so much, right?

Okay, so what if you knew that in those few weeks that Abel makes enough money to take the entire rest of the year off to do whatever the heck he wants?

Now what were you saying about “passion”?

Creating your own job truly is the next big wave. Scroll down to learn how to best prepare to make YOUR own job.

Is doing work you enjoy preferable? Absolutely. But as B.C. Forbes remind us, “Don’t forget until it is too late that the business of life is not business but living.”

Now think of one word that describes how you will feel if that day never came. In other words, what would it be like if you knew you were going to remain in your present circumstance right up until – or perhaps well into – your retirement?

I’m imagining you might feel…

Stuck
Depressed
Trapped
Discouraged
Sad
Miserable

Heartbroken
Devastated
Unhappy
Caged
Worried
Gloomy

Jon Stewart quipped, “The big break for me was deciding that this is my life.” It was for me as well. In fact, the realization that I only have this one shot to get it right was my propelling force to finally move in the direction of my dream.

I knew if I didn’t at least try to create the life I really wanted, I would be stuck with the one I had. Now THAT was a scary feeling!

This is the time however, when you can expect a whole set of in-between emotions. I’m talking about the mixed emotions that emerge the moment you actually decide to stop dreaming of a better future and do something about it.

From moment to moment you may feel…

Excited
Scared
Optimistic
Determined

Worried
Eager
Discouraged
Elated

Uncertain
Free
Anxious
Hopeful

When faced with these sorts of competing emotions it’s vitally important to see fear and worry and all the other dream-killing ones for what they are:

Normal responses to any significant change — even welcome ones. Each time I’ve moved, applied to school, started a new job I felt these negative emotions and more.

This is also the time to remember that the excitement, determination, optimism, and the certainty that there truly can be no change without changes are real too. The trick is to name these emotions and then lean into them.

This is hard to do when you are trying to make it all on your own. It goes back to feelings. How do you feel:

When you have no one to help you think through the tough decisions?

When there is no one you can turn to when you need information, or advice or feedback?

When you don’t have anyone who to show you how to identify what it is you even love to do and then make money doing it?

If you’re like most people you feel…

Confused
Overwhelmed

Discouraged
Self-doubting

Lost
Paralyzed

No wonder Barbara Sher insists that, “Isolation is the dream killer!”

It’s also the reason why earlier this week I very slowly began to invite people into a new support community called the Changing Course Tribe.

The group is for people are still searching for a calling or who found it but don’t know how to monetize it and who need direction. And it’s also a place for people who have already started a small business but are not yet financially viable to get the help they need.

I considered breaking them into two groups, one for Idea Seekers and one for Idea Launchers. In the end I decided to create one group. The way I see it:

Idea Seekers can be both inspired by and learn a lot from people who are a few steps ahead of them.

The closer you come to leaving the security of your 9-to-5 job (no matter how much you want out) the greater your level of excitement… and trepidation. Or maybe you start off with an abundance of confidence only to hit a speed bump that sets you reeling.

I recently asked Changing Course readers to name the biggest thing that was holding them back. A few mentioned a lack of money or time. But a whopping 82 percent cited the biggest obstacle as lack of confidence.

Anyone who has ever ventured out of their safe little world will tell you they had doubts. In fact, when making a major life change, not only is a certain amount of fear perfectly normal, it’s actually helpful!

One good thing about fear is it will keep you from quitting your job in a huff before you’ve put some other things in place. There’s a reason the web site is called ChangingCourse.com and not Jump-Off-a-Cliff.com. In addition, fear is an indicator that you think your dream is possible. If you didn’t, you’d have nothing to fear.

Best of all, fear is manageable. Here are three strategies to get you started:

3 Ways to Manage Fear 1. Focus on the Now

When you’re focused on the present it’s harder to feel fear. Ask Garrett McNamara, the 45-year-old surfer who took on what’s believed to be a 100 foot wave off the coast of Portugal. Incredibly he failed to achieve the one thing he lives for – the rush. What could possibly halt the exhilaration that adrenaline junkies live for? Unfortunately for him, Garrett says he too “in the moment” explaining in a CBS This Morning interview,

“When you’re focusing on what you’re doing that moment you’re not going to the future and what could happen and fear cannot enter your mind… When you start thinking about what could happen that’s when fear can set in.”

2. Start super small

Begin with low-risk steps and gradually work your way up to the harder stuff. For example, if you think you want to start a bed and breakfast don’t run out and buy real estate. Instead try it out first by being a Grow Taller 4 Idiots
B & B sitter or renting a room in your home on AirBnB.com.

If you want to start a crafts-related business slowly build up inventory. If you want to sell your homemade cheesecake, experiment with different recipes. In both cases do some free market research by asking friends and strangers alike for feedback on taste, design, potential price points, business names, and so on.

Whenever you make a major work/life change there are literally thousands of steps. But you don’t need to do them all at once. Commit to taking one small action a day and watch your confidence – and your dream – grow!

3. Find your tribe

A sense of belonging fosters confidence. Even if you’re the picture of confidence, we all need help changing course. The type of help you need varies depending on where you are in the changing course process.

For example, if you still don’t know what you want to do then you’re in the Idea Seeker stage. Your tribe is an individual or a group who can help you to connect the dots between what you love to do and how you can make money doing it.

Or maybe you know exactly what you want to do however, you don’t know where to start or you’ve already taken steps to start a business. In either case, you’re in the Idea Launcher phase. At this point you need a different kind of tribe.

Things like sales and marketing, business planning, finding financing or partners, identifying additional income streams, and/or help setting up an online business.

Whether you’re an Idea Seeker and an Idea Launcher, sooner or later you’re going to hit a bump in the road. You start to procrastinate because you’re afraid, or you lack the confidence to take the next step, or you’re certain you’re not “expert” enough to really put you and your business out there. Or you’re just not sure what the next step should be.

This is where things like mentoring and coaching come in. If money is an issue, find a friend who can hold you accountable. If you can’t afford $500 or more a month for formal coaching, find a person or group that’s more in line with your budget.

The key is to have people on your side who believe in you even when don’t believe in yourself. Who can help you trouble shoot and brainstorm and serve as a sounding board.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Wait Until You Feel Confident

You can’t wait until you feel more confident before you make a change. To the contrary: Courage is not a matter of losing your fear so you can take action; courage comes from taking action. And that, in turn, helps you overcome your fear. When you can act despite your fears, you will be rewarded many times over.

The Bottom Line

I know that finding the courage, money, time, and support are all essential to changing course. The good news is that they are also manageable. I know because I’ve been both living and studying these steps for nearly two decades. And I’m only too happy to share what I’ve learned with you!

When you see someone who has already achieved some degree of success – perhaps they’ve written a book, or appeared on stage, or have a highly profitable business – what goes through your mind?

Do you think – Hey, I could do that! Or do you think that person possesses some qualities or abilities that elude you?

I recently attended a week-long personal branding/speaking/media training program co-led by my friend Suzanne Evans and New York Times best-selling author, speaker and frequent Fox commentator Larry Winget.

Scott Pasmore co-anchor of the KTVKs popular television show Good Morning Phoenix was brought in to give us the inside scoop on how to get on the local news shows. I must have taken five pages of notes.

Suddenly I heard my name called. Turns out I and four other attendees were selected to take part in a series of mock television interviews with Scott and Larry.

One was a parenting expert who was asked for her opinion on gun control. Three financial experts were on a panel to discuss various aspects of money. Then it was my turn to take the stage.

What question did they put to me?

“What did I think about the Supreme Court’s recent reversal of an earlier ruling in favor of the SPCAs case that the handling of elephants by Ringling Brothers Circus’s constituted cruelty to animals?”

WHAT THE…!!!

This would be a great question for an attorney or the owner of an animal-related business. But I’m neither.

I have two areas of expertise. One of course is career change specifically for people who want to be self-employed. The other is the impostor syndrome – an all too common feeling perhaps best explained by Mike Myers’ quip that he’s still waiting for the no-talent police to show up and arrest him.

I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it was something to the effect of, “Well, as a confidence expert what I see are two opposing parties who had the confidence of their convictions to go all the way to the Supreme court…”

Basically I just kept trying to change the conversation from animal cruelty to human self-confidence with lines like…”We can argue the merits of this particular case all day long… but the real issue here is that far too many people feel confident enough to…” You get the idea.

In the end I got a big round of applause. A number of people told me how impressed they were at my ability to keep my cool and think on my feet.

Things Are Not Always As They Appear

What the other participants didn’t know is that all five of us were given advance notice of our respective line of questioning. For me that meant thirty minutes of freak out time trying to wrap my way too tired brain around what to do with a subject that was so out of left-field.

I knew I’d been singled out for this curve ball because Larry and Suzanne thought I could handle it. So while I was flattered, I was by no means confident. If I’d been hit with that circus elephant question cold, my jaw would have been on the floor. And if this had been live television it would have been a disaster.

I want you to know this because too many people never go after their dreams because they make false assumptions. They assume people who are where you want to be are smarter, or more talented, or more confident, or faster on their feet.

So they give up too soon. Or worse, they never even try.

They rarely take into account the countless hours that all successful people invest in their craft in order to make it “look” easy. Or in my case, how those thirty minutes made the difference between rising to the occasion and falling flat on my face.

What assumptions are you making about people who you see as successful or confident? How are these assumptions keeping you from stretching yourself? What if you knew that some of the most successful and talented people on the planet are racked with doubt – but they keep going anyway?

Then off to Stamford to borrow my friend Ryan Lee’s brain for a few hours before my presentation at Connecticut College.

The college is in New London, an old New England historic seaport city with a charming 19th century downtown that’s seen better days. With the support of the city, shop keepers, restaurants and other entrepreneurs are starting to revive things. Who knows, maybe you could join them!

The next day I spoke at a workshop and book signing in Hartford. So many people try to do everything on their own when it’s often far easier (and a lot more fun) to find people you can partner with.

From in-demand Hollywood recruiter to world traveler and now coach, it is been a wild few years for Sheila Brown.

Sheila spent two decades in the recruiting field. For ten of those she worked for the likes of Paramount, Warner Brothers, Sony, NBC Universal, Disney and other major Hollywood studios.

Back then she lived in upscale Beverly Hills — with a lifestyle to match. She’d amassed three hundred Gucci bags, a closet full of Prada shoes… the whole shebang.

Sheila was doing great financially. But was she happy? No. What she really wanted to do was see the world.

Why Should Kids Have All the Fun?

She got to thinking about how when you’re a kid, you have lots of free time and no money. And what did you and every other kid complain about most? They’re bored… There’s nothing to do.

With adults though, it’s just the opposite. “People with good jobs have money but no time to enjoy life. I remember thinking, it’s not fair,” she said.

That’s when it hit her. Sheila didn’t want to wait to see the world until she was retired. She wanted to live life fully now, while she had her health.

“Spirit told me to get rid of the house, the bags, the shoes, and all those other stupid trappings of success and go for it.” So in 2009 she sold everything and today all her worldly possessions fit into just three suitcases.

The same three suitcases she now uses while fulfilling her dream of traveling the world. And travel she has. So far this year Sheila’s taken 21 trips. In between she stays with friends of family.

If you think Sheila can do this because she’s rich – think again.

In fact she admits to making some “dumb decisions” a few years back which caused her to go broke. But for Sheila adversity didn’t equal failure.

Instead she describes that time as “22 months of life lessons.”

“Poor is a Mindset. Broke is a Temporary Condition”

Even in her darkest moments, which included standing in line at the welfare office, Sheila said she never felt poor explaining, “Poor is a mindset. Broke is a temporary condition. And I was broke.”

Things turned around in 2011. “I trusted in God’s plan and one day in January the doors just opened.” Withing a few days checks arrived from 14 different sources – including an online business she’d set up and had all but forgotten.

It was during her broke period that Sheila came across the Changing Course website. When she saw the course description for the Profiting from Your Passions® Career Coach training she wrote in her journal, “Someday I will take this course.”

Never Say, “I Can’t Afford This”

Notice she didn’t say, “I can’t afford this.”

It goes back to that mindset Sheila talked about. I read once that you should never say “I can’t afford it” to anything that will put you closer to a dream.

You can say, “That’s interesting, but it’s not for me.” Or, you can say, “I can’t swing it right now.”

But when you say “I can’t afford it” unconsciously you’re telling yourself that you not only don’t have the money right now but that you never will.

Three years later Sheila fulfilled her promise to herself. She not only did she find the money to take the course, but she also flew half way across the country to do it.

I saved the best part for last. Today Sheila’s life is a beach. Literally!

Right after the training with me, Sheila flew to the Dominican Republic where she’d rented a house on the beach for six months… sight unseen.

I for one am thrilled that the seemingly endless US election cycle is finally over!

But in the final week I got to attend a rally in nearby New Hampshire with not one but TWO United States presidents. Talk about historic!

We left the hotel in the dark at 5:30am (that’s a street light above us) and were in line by 5:45am.

How crazy is it to stand for four and a half hours in the freezing cold with 14,000 other engaged voters to attend what turned out to be the biggest rally in New Hampshire history?

Certainly no crazier than the couple from London came to be a part of the election. Talk about passion!

Secret service in sunglasses. Army snipers on the roofs. Helicopters circling over head. An experience I’ll never forget.

A few days later I was on a plane for Phoenix to attend Suzanne Evans’ and Larry Winget’s Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Start Making Money event.

I’ve been friends with Suzanne for four years now so was curious to see first-hand what Larry Winget is all about.

That is besides being a five-time New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, former host of his own show on A&E show, highly-paid speaker for nearly 400 of the Fortune 500 companies, featured in two CNBC specials and having his own PBS special, and is a regular contributor on FOX News, FOX Business and other news networks as a personal development/business/financial guru.

The guy is even more impressive in person. If you haven’t seen him in action, check out his video clips at LarryWinget.com.

Also impressive were the dozens of Changing Course readers, former clients and students I had the chance to meet or see again.

The lesson — never stop being engaged in the world around you.

Among the many blessings I will count this Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the 18 years you have allowed me to make a small contribution to your quest to follow your own road, live life on purpose, and work at what you love.

On November 3rd I turned 58. I know some people (women especially) don’t like to reveal their age. Not me.

My mom passed away at the too young age of 61. Life expectancy in some poor countries is as low as 45.

I consider each additional year, indeed each new day, to be a gift. And I think sharing my age honors all those who never got to be my age.

One of the benefits of age is increased clarity. As you rack up life experiences you discover what you want — and as importantly, what you don’t want.

When we are younger, we’re more apt to settle in all kinds of ways.

You settle for less than healthy relationships because, “It’s better than being alone.”

You settle for high-stress jobs or tyrant bosses because, “At least I have a job” or we say, “It could be worse.”

You settle for all kinds of things that later in life would be simply unacceptable. Now that I’m pushing 60, settling feels entirely uninteresting.

I don’t want my obituary to read: “She wanted to help thousands of people see interesting ways to make a living without a j-o-b. But she settled for cranking out marketing materials in a cubicle in someone else’s company.”

To be clear, settling is not the same as compromise.

Healthy relationships require compromise from both partners. And while I think you can get darned close, no job — or business — is perfect.

There are parts of any business that require you to stretch in uncomfortable ways. There are times when you’d rather take a nap, exercise, or do anything other than hustle to meet a deadline or phone a potential customer.

Relationships, parenting, work all require these kinds of healthy trade-offs.

But settling is different. When you settle, you unwittingly check your true needs, desires, and gifts at the door.

When You Settle You Are Telling Yourself, “This is the Best I Can Do.”

And when that happens you don’t even try to get your needs met. You don’t attempt to realize your true desires. You talk about bringing your gifts into the world or of wanting to make a difference. But you take no steps to either.

So why do we settle? I’m not referring just to you. I mean all of us.

Everyone has his or her reasons for settling for a job when what they really want is a life. In the end though it come down to this:

a) You don’t think it’s possible — or more specifically, you believe it’s possible for other people… but not for you

b) You don’t believe that you deserve to get what you want in life

c) Or both

Webster’s Dictionary defines “nonsense” as language, conduct, or an idea that is absurd or contrary to good sense.

The idea that it is possible for others to create the life they really want but you are somehow less talented or interesting or capable is absurd.

The belief that every other person on the planet — except you — deserves to do work that is meaningful and self-sustaining is contrary to good sense.

And when you consider that there are countless millions of people who right this very minute are enjoying the freedom, the flexibility, and the satisfaction of being their own boss, then it is nonsense to believe you can’t be among them.

That is, IF you are ready to stop settling.

If you don’t know what makes you happy then make it your quest to find out. Take a class. Read a book. Hire a career expert who specializes in self-employment. Ask your friends what they see you doing. (If your friends are settling — skip that last idea.)

You can settle for a lifetime spent in a high-stress job in a dysfunctional organization. You can settle for far less than you want or deserve. You can settle for a life of mediocrity.

Or you can try to change course. The essential word here is “try.”

With each passing birthday I am more certain of the truth in the words of the great opera diva Beverly Sills who said, “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”

There is no shortage of interesting ways to make money doing what you love. There is only a shortage of resolve to take the first step.

No Longer Willing to Settle?

I currently have room in my schedule for 4 new Profiting from Your Passions® laser clients and 2 VIP clients. (VIP clients are by application only).

Before our session you’ll receive tools to hone in on your unique gifts, interests and skills. That alone is invaluable.

Then working with me in a private consulting session, I’ll show you practical ways you can make money doing what you love. Ideas are guaranteed to pass the “The Life Test.” And you’ll leave knowing the exact next steps you can take immediately so you can happily “settle into” your new life.

One of the benefits of being your own boss is the adrenalin rush that comes from getting to constantly pick and choose among opportunities. I didn’t get that when I had a job-job.

That’s because when you work for someone else you tend to have a very different take on the very meaning of the word “opportunity” than those of us who work for ourselves. Let me tell you what I mean.

It took a number of years for my business here at Changing Course to be profitable. So during that time I supported myself as contract trainer for a company that delivers corporate seminars on time and focus management.

As part of the course I’d explain managing priorities in terms of assessing both the urgency and importance. Examples of activities that are both urgent and important include meeting deadlines, managing crises, or responding to opportunities.

Everyone gets meeting deadlines and firefighting. But whenever I’d ask my students for an example of a work-related opportunity their reaction is always the same.

With the exception of the folks in sales or marketing, no one – and I mean not a single person – could come up with an example. In fact, they look positively baffled. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. But now that I’ve been my own boss for going on 18 years now, I understand why.

The thing is, when you work for someone else – and there is no additional financial incentive to either create or respond to opportunities – opportunities are seen as things that add more work.

Managers (of which I was one) used to try to pass them off as “growth opportunities.” But with a few exceptions everyone knew it was just more work on top of an already full plate.

In contrast, my life as an entrepreneur is ALL about picking and choosing amongst multiple opportunities. For example, I once passed on authoring a book with a major publishing house on finding the perfect job. While I was flattered to be asked, writing is not something that comes easily to me.

I know how much work it takes to write a book. So I decided that that when I did write my one, it would have to be on a topic that really excites me… like creating creative income streams or how to be an “opportunity analyst” or the book I ultimately did write on how to feel as bright and capable as everyone “thinks” you are.

To invest all that time into a project that didn’t even excite me just didn’t make sense.

Before my Virtual Assistant (VA), Lisa Tarrant, left her corporate job to work with me at Changing Course, she didn’t fully appreciate the opportunity factor. Within a matter of weeks though, she got it.

The same day the book offer came in; we got a call about a promising partnership opportunity, found a new marketing channel, were contacted about a speaking engagement in California, and were offered the chance to submit an article to a major publication.

At the end of an exhilarating day I turned to Lisa and said, “Now do you see what I was talking about?” The huge grin on her face told me she did.

I feel sorry for people who don’t get to experience the rush of adrenalin that comes with having so many opportunities from which to choose. But you don’t have to be an entrepreneur (yet) to start thinking like one!

Frances Bacon once said, “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” As you seek to escape the j-o-b world and create the life you really want, make it a point to focus on all the benefits there are to changing course.

To help you stay inspired, add to the list of what your new life will be like: The adrenalin rush that comes from the opportunity to constantly pick and choose among opportunities. It’s not only a thrilling way to live – from where I sit – it’s the ONLY way to live!

If you’ve already taken steps to start your own business there’s one more step I urge you to take. I know for many it feels like a big investment to outsource, especially when you’re “bootstrapping” your business.

But when you hire someone who can handle all the stuff that drains you – even if it’s just for a few hours a week – it frees you up to take advantage of all those cool opportunities that are the best and highest use of your gifts.

I feel so passionate about this that I’ll be hosting an upcoming Teleclass all about Virtual Team Building. You’ll find all the details in the Featured Resource section below. I think you’ll be surprised to discover just how affordable hiring virtual assistants can be!

The great Olympian Carl Lewis said, “Life is about timing.” So is the decision to make a major work-life change.

Over the last week I’ve taken calls from dozen people all desperate to find a way to take control of their life and time by transitioning from having a boss to being their own boss.

Some have been Changing Course followers for a relatively short period of time — from literally a day to a year or two.

Others have been reading this newsletter for three… five… ten years. Two people have followed me since I began this newsletter some 17 years ago!

You’d think I’d be happy to have such loyal followers. I am flattered.

But am I happy? Not necessarily.

The whole reason I started this business was to give people the information, inspiration, and ideas to be able to change course. If I somehow inspired you to launch a small enterprise — great! And if staying connected to me helps you stay on track — all the better.

But what about the people who’ve been reading this newsletter for up to 17 years and have yet to take a step?

I’m not judging. But the connection between how long someone had been thinking about changing course and their willingness to act was both unmistakable and telling.

Some of the people who called did so because they wanted to know if I could help them come up with ways they could make money doing what they love. The vast majority of newer “fans” followed through and booked a laser session.

The “old timers” mostly took notes about how the process works. But they weren’t ready to commit.

Then there were calls I fielded about the upcoming business start-up program I’m leading on how to become a licensed Profiting from Your Passions® career coach. They began saying remarkably similar things…

“This feels like what I was born to do.”

“This is exactly what I want to do — thank you for making this class so affordable.”

“I’ve spent three decades doing work everyone told me I should do — but I hated every minute. I feel like I wasted my life. Now I want to help other people not make the same mistake I did.”

What I do is not for everyone. So I never expect everyone to work with me. However, I couldn’t help but notice how often people said something I’d heard thousands of times before. And I’m not talking about my course.

People with a wide range of dreams will be super excited about the prospect of going to culinary school or becoming a dog trainer. Then the opportunity presents itself and they say the same thing…

“I need to think about it.”

Sitting on the Fence of Life

In the meantime a lot of people sit on the fence watching other people open their retreat center or write their children’s book or become wine experts.

Or they go from guru to guru. They take in tons of advice — but never follow any of it.

Days turn into weeks, then months, then years, and soon entire decades have passed. And before they know it, the “thinkers” are wondering where the time — and their dreams — have gone.

For the record, I’m an advocate of thoughtful decision-making. Reflection keeps us from grasping at every shiny object that comes along. And there are plenty of legitimate reasons for not taking action.

At the same time, far too many people make decisions with their head while ignoring their heart. It’s what put a lot of us on the wrong career path to begin with.

The world is full of unhappy nurses and sales managers who now regret that they made the “logical” career choice. They know they’re on the wrong path. And they know there are steps they can take right this very minute that will put them on the right path.

But still they think and think and think but never act. And that’s a shame.

There Are No Coincidences

I’m not one to throw around words like “magical.” But time and again I’ve seen what happens when people step into their dreams. The smallest step can lead to pure magic.

Take registered nurse Alicia-Joy Pierre. With not one but three websites, including TransitionsinNursing.com and another business aimed at helping other nurses to think outside the job box, Alicia-Joy is clearly entrepreneurial.

At the same time I know that some people struggle working on their own but positively shine in a partnership.

So when another nurse registered for the live version of the Profiting from Your Passion® class in Connecticut I connected her with Alicia-Joy. Now they’re both enrolled in the coach training class and already talking about collaborating.

Finally there’s Stephanie. During a laser career session I learned that Stephanie’s life-long fascination with politics had been sparked by a high school boyfriend.

But rather than follow her dream of going into public policy she spent the last two decades in the mental health field. She also wanted to live by a lake. That never happened either.

Even if she could get into policy making — which at this point in her career Stephanie was pretty sure she couldn’t — the vast majority of policy jobs are in Washington DC. So living lakeside didn’t look too promising either.

Or so she thought.

Within weeks of taking action Stephanie not only was invited to chair a local advocacy group but much to her surprise a prestigious public policy center is located two hours away — on a lake.

And in a remarkable twist of fate, after not seeing her old high school boyfriend for decades Stephanie ran into him in a shopping center parking lot. There truly are no coincidences.

As George Eliot said, “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

Whether you’ve been a follower for seven minutes or seventeen years — it truly is never too late to stop thinking about your dream of changing course and start acting on it.

Life is too short for regrets. So get off the fence and take that first step.

I ask because a few weeks ago I sent a survey to people interested in taking my upcoming training program to be a Profiting from Your Passions(R) career coach.

I was curious to know things like, “What appeals to you about training to do this kind of work?” And, “Why do you think you’d be good at helping people come up with ways to make money doing what they love?”

Essentially these are “why” questions.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re considering training to be a pastry chef or a dog trainer or an auctioneer. You need to know your why.

In the case of my potential trainees, answers generally fell into three categories.

They love the idea of helping people.

They love the idea of getting paid to do what comes naturally.

Or both.

Here’s a small sample of what they said:

I LOVE to do this. I think most people have a flawed mindset that dissociates money earning with doing what they love. The 2 are highly compatible. I believe that. Firmly. Alicia

I’m always helping people. It would be nice to be compensated for something I love to do. Shelly

I seem to attract people who need the information I have. I get called the ‘go-to’ person in my circle. Lee

Through the years, people ask me for advice on “what to do” with their life, and in certain situations. I tend to think “outside the box.” Many times I have suggestions that they would never have thought of. Debra

I am always giving advice to people in reference to their business dreams, about the things I have learned through reading and searching the net. Violeta

I excel at ideation, I’m a very good listener, and I’m good at helping people accept new ideas and perspectives. Kim

I absolutely love helping other people find ways to turn their passion into a career. I find myself getting engulfed in a sea of ideas any time someone mentions their dream career to me. I feel so excited and compelled to just start rattling off ideas about how they could market themselves, etc.

Sometimes people look at me a little funny at first (because of my immediate excitement) but once they realize I’m genuinely excited for them, they starttolisten. Kyra

I have always enjoyed helping people problem solve. I am a natural out of box thinker, and have wanted to start coaching people. Dione

Through the years, people ask me for advice on “what to do” with their life, and in certain situations. I tend to think “outside the box.” Many times I have suggestions that they would never have thought of. Debra

I’m good at discovering things in people that they don’t even see themselves and finding ways that people can monetize their own expertise. I do this often with people but just don’t get “paid” to do it. Roslyn

In different ways all of these answers speak to a future direction.

Sometimes though, the desire to change course comes mostly from where you don’t want to be.

For example, Theresa began by saying, “I’m always giving advice to people about careers that I think would be good for them and many have taking the leap of faith and are doing well.”

Knowing that you’ve already used your gift and talents to help other people is a great “why.”

But then Theresa goes on to say, “I so want to be free from my current job.”

That last line reminded me something I learned some 17 years ago when I too was desperate to get of out my job-job.

Whether you’re in a bad relationship or an unrewarding job, the urge to change course tends to start with a quiet stirring that something is amiss.

Too often, though, we ignore these gentle whispers until the volume becomes so loud we are either forced to act or retreat into a kind of numb denial. I, for one, opted for the latter.

So, seven years and numerous promotions later, there I was on a fast-track heading in the wrong way. Five mornings a week I awoke to the insistent buzz of an alarm clock jarring me from my peaceful world of dreams long before I was ready.

As I dragged myself out of bed, I’d mentally note the number of days between then and blessed Friday.

The problem was not about the workload or the people. In fact I really liked my co-workers.

The problem was that the course I was on was taking me farther and farther away from myself and from my truth.

I had no clue as to what that was. So I accepted a job at a small company closer to home. A move I now describe as the career equivalent of changing deck chairs on the Titanic.

But nothing helped.

More and more I found myself staring wistfully out my office window longing for a life that allowed me to attend to the things that really matter – the people I love, quiet reflection, exercise, fulfilling work, causes I believe in.

The walls of denial were starting to crumble.

It was in the solitude of the office stairwells, away from people and phones where my own whispers of discontent first reached a dull roar.

With each step I chanted, “I’ve got to get out of here” over and over as if the words themselves could magically transport me to another place, a different reality.

You Can’t Get There From Here

I didn’t fully grasp it then, but “here” embodied more than a particular job or company. It was a lifestyle built around the need to follow someone else’s schedule, play by someone else’s rules, and achieve someone else’s goals.

It’s been said that the only real success is to be able to spend your life in your own way. This was the direction I needed to go, yet I couldn’t seem to get there.

There’s an old joke about a tourist who stopped to ask an old Vermont farmer if he’s on the right road to get to Bennington. “E-yup,” said the farmer. “But you can’t get there from here.”

The same can be said about how I was approaching my life.

Because my stairwell mantra focused on what I didn’t want, I’d unwittingly set up a psychic roadblock. Until I’d formulated a clear picture of my desired destination, I most probably wouldn’t be able to get there – at least not from here.

But, when my emotional focus shifted from “here” – current life – to “there” – a new life that embodied the truth of who I was and the elements I deemed essential to a contented life – something truly remarkable happened.

All the energy I’d been squandering complaining about the present was suddenly available to turn toward the task of creating the life I really wanted.

In the end it is your “why” that sustains your dream. Your vision of what could be is the wellspring from which you draw the courage to take those first bold steps to change course from where you are… to where you want to be.

From the Blog

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